Follow these airport mantras and make travel far more joyful
The holiday madness in airports has begun. With total airline traffic packed this holiday season, there will be crowds. American, Southwest, and United are filling their planes. And security checks go slower. During crowded travel times, we all need reminders of airport mantras.
These airport mantras can help to make travel more peaceful and change your experience.
Over the next week, herds of people across the globe will be navigating their way through airports. They will deal with the obstacles, delays, and air travel cancellations to reach friends and family. However, stress wins in our anxious journey from Point A to Point B. We don’t always share the same loving spirit that the holidays represent with those along our path.
Take the spirit of the holidays with you to the airport and on your flight
So, remember to take the spirit of the holidays with you to the airport. And, leave the stress. Stay jolly even when things may seem hectic and frustrating. Keep the following seven holiday mantras dancing through your head as you experience the magic of flying.
- Say “Thank You” before you enter the airport – be grateful for the opportunity to travel. Remember those not able to travel throughout the world.
- Wish “Happy holidays!” to the airline employee who is herding cats all day long at the ticketing counter and boarding gate. Encourage them. Ninety-seven percent of what they hear all day long is negative.
- Watch the security lines and wish the other travelers well. Imagine the friends and family that they are also in a hurry to celebrate with. Give them peace and space whenever you can.
- Find a spot to enjoy five minutes of silence. Close your eyes and appreciate right where you are.
- On the plane, help someone who is struggling with putting their bag in the overhead compartment.
- Write a loving note to someone that you need to share a more poignant message with this holiday season.
- “Step Back from the Baggage Claim” — don’t rush to “claim” what we think is ours this holiday season. Remember the grateful and compassionate meaning the season represents, and put those actions into motion.
Step back from the Baggage Carousel — crowding doesn’t make it go faster.
Travel during the pandemic has additional hassles. Social distancing when moving through airport terminals, wash your hands whenever you can. If you wait and take your time there will always be more space and fewer hassles. Maybe, the days of stressful travel will teach you how more peaceful standing back from the traffic of mankind can be.
Change begins from the ground up. The pressure underneath the wings has to be greater than the pressure above the wings. Change begins with singular moments. It can begin at the baggage claim and carry into our everyday lives.
Change begins with you and me.
Happy Holidays! And Travel Gracefully. Buy this book, Step Back From the Baggage Claim. Learn how to change your daily world through thoughtful and compassionate action!
Ever experienced the way small moments impact our lives? Ever wanted to participate in a movement to change our world? Step back, Be Still, Share Compassion, Live Gratefully. Today, travel gracefully along your path! Step Back from the Baggage Claim. Jason Barger spent seven straight days flying 6,548 miles to seven different cities, living only in the airports the entire time. He studied 10,000 minutes of observations at all four corners of the US and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives TODAY. The airport metaphor leaps to life through profound anecdotes about an orphanage in Mexico, a summer camp in Ohio, bamboo, the homeless, climbing Mt. Everest, a hotdog grill, and much more.
Travelers United’s selection as the best Christmas video we have seen during the last few years — amazingly, it is German.
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Jason Barger spent seven straight days flying 6,458 miles to seven different cities – without leaving the airports the entire time. He studied 10,000 minutes of observations at all four corners of the U.S. and reflected on how our airport experiences can teach us about our lives TODAY. The funny and inspiring stories remind us how to change our daily world in our personal lives, businesses, schools, and faith communities! Join the movement. All four editions of Step Back from the Baggage Claim are motivational books perfect for anyone looking to impact change in their life and work.
