It is a scientific fact that if you can experience joy while waiting for your flight in an airport, you can experience joy anywhere.
Joy, you say? I know. These days funeral homes are more joyous.
If you define the opposite of joy as :
- security personnel scowling at you,
- overpriced food,
- uncomfortable and overcrowded seating and
- frustrating flight delays,
then maybe you aren’t buying the joy thing.
So let’s start with fun. Can you have fun at an airport?
Children can. I’m seeing more and more playgrounds at larger airports.
At Baltimore ….
At Chicago O’Hare…
Adults can also have fun at airports. There are plenty of fun activities. These are some of mine:
- Crossword puzzles
- Talking with travel companions or fellow passengers
- Reading a good book
- People watching
How do you have fun at the airport?
If you can have fun at an airport, then can you experience gratitude?
Well, the obvious is that the plane lands safely.
But I suspect that you can also be grateful for:
- the miracle of technology that allows you to travel thousands of miles in less than a day
- that you are in an economic place that you can even afford to fly
- the opportunity for time just to catch up on your reading
For what are you grateful while spending time at the airport?
So if you can fun at the airport, can you experience joy?
Can you experience joy in the:
- act of breathing
- process of transition
- opportunities of the moment
- knowledge that you are surrounded and supported by thousands of people whose job is to keep you safe
Where can you find joy at the airport?
I’ve been told that how we do one thing is how we do everything. Seems true enough.
We can approach each day and each experience by asking 3 questions:
- Where can I have fun?
- For what am I grateful?
- How can I experience joy?
Fun – gratitude – joy…. everywhere, everyday.
This is how to travel through an airport. And this is how to life each day.
