Happiness is our natural state

"You don't need a reason to be happy, you need a reason to be sad." ~ my 11 year old daughter, Brianna Gutierrez

Pretty much sums up our ideal self. Happy. Without needing any reason.

Yes, there are times people will ask you and say, "what's so funny?" or "what are you smiling about?" - in an effort to share in your cheer, right? I'm going to err on the side of optimism that most times anyone questioning your happy state will not be aiming to ruin it. Though that does happen, I'm sure.

What I'm also sure about is that your loved ones will notice when you aren't happy. When you seem distracted, stressed or sad. It's because deep down, I believe, we all want each other to be in that natural state of happiness.

Yesterday I found it difficult to be in my natural state of happiness. At five in the morning, my husband and I were awakened by our dog of 13 years, Bongo, who was yelping and struggling to get up from his bed. He vomited and could not stand. We were shocked and of course, alarmed to see him like this. He's generally healthy, walks with me at least a mile every day and is very much a beloved member of our family.

After helping him outside to relieve himself, using two towels slung under his belly to lift his torso we resolved a trip to the vet was a must as soon as they opened.

Hours (and more than a thousand dollars) later - we had him back home with a regimen of medications, protocol for feeding, and a follow up visit on the calendar. The diagnosis, maybe canine vestibular disease - messing with his inner ear equilibrium, maybe a stroke (!) - only time would tell.

Also on Monday I got news that a family member of mine is struggling with cancer treatment - ahead of schedule. I mean, most people expect chemo to be trying on the digestive system and generally causes a person to feel awful, but not from day one. What happened to his grace period? I object!

This weekend I'm going to be helping my one and only daughter - the one I quoted at the top of this post - move in to her college dorm. Cue huge sigh and deep dive into the unnatural state of sadness.

Yeah, it is expected to feel blue because of impending empty nest syndrome. Yeah, we know the bummer it is to have a pet be sick and absolutely 100 times even more so when it is a person we know and love who is suffering.

There are good reasons behind the sadness. I can choose to feel them - and I did - and then with the support of my family, I moved past it. I can tap into that sadness if I wish, it is all right there at the surface. That lump in the throat or pain in the heart is super tangible in all of these situations.

But so is happiness.

I felt sad that my dog was sick. Frustrated that it cost so much money to figure out what was wrong. Angry that I couldn't fix it.

Then I felt glad I was able to get him to a vet. I have the means - maybe not right away - to pay for his treatment (our vet's office is very understanding with payment options). Somehow, we'll get to the bottom of it. It is the price one pays to have a pet that gives so much love and joy to our lives. Small price at that.

Yes I cried yesterday - for many reasons. They were all valid.

I felt sad. I allowed myself to feel it. Then I worked to release it. I will admit I had help from a loved one, who shared a very effective meditation on releasing. I definitely needed to release a lot yesterday and this method, which I practiced for the very first time last night before I drifted off to a very peaceful sleep helped me do that. Maybe it will help you.