No matter how happy or content we are, there always seems to be a little voice inside us that thinks, "I would be happier if..." We seem to be forever creating wish lists for new jobs, better relationships, financial success, or even spiritual achievement: "I'll be happy when I no longer need anything to make me happy." OK, whatever.

One of the biggest challenges to your happiness picture might occur if you lose your job. Quitting a job is one thing, but getting laid off imposes a whole new set of circumstances that you may not have anticipated. Whether or not you have a tidy nest egg or bread-winning partner, you're still going to miss your work, co-workers (at least some of them), daily routine, business connections, and the satisfaction of that particular job well done. Oh yes, and health benefits. Many people go through at least some of the stages of grief identified by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: shock, anger, depression, and finally, acceptance, which hopefully leads to energetically creating a new, fulfilling life for yourself.

This all takes time. Right about now, if you got laid off a few years back, you might be thinking you're kind of lucky. You've had a chance to get your bearings before the tsunami of layoffs struck. People losing their jobs today have the challenging task of landing on their feet in an upside down economy.

If you are freshly freelance, as they say, or going through financial stress, the tendency is to have a glass of wine, scramble for some quick work, and try to forget about it. But I encourage you to go deeper into the heart of the experience. Allow yourself to fully feel any pain, sadness or rage–immerse yourself in it!–so that you can move through to the stage of acceptance that much more quickly. Talk to your friends, pound on a pillow, scream to the mountains, but let it out.

Then take this time to think about what really makes (or could make) your heart sing, or at least makes your life work, and how you can put it into practice. Read inspiring magazines of reinvention (Fast Company [1], Fortune [2], More [3]) and think about new ways to merge your passion with your skills. Take a class and learn how to do something new, even though there's a part of you pouting in resistance. It's almost impossible to predict how the kaleidescope of your particular experiences will come together, because life is so full of surprises. Your next life adventure may have been waiting in the wings for ages, or it could take years to reveal itself, but the sooner you start exploring it, the sooner you're likely to make it a reality.

Meditating Lemur photo by Audi Insperation.