Will Karen Be Protesting on Wednesday?

Well, Thanksgiving is almost here. We’ll be traveling to Boston
this holiday to visit family and friends.

And guess what day we will be traveling?

Yep, you guessed it: November 24, the day before Thanksgiving. Not
only is this one of the busiest travel days all year — this year
we have the added potential of even more security screening fun.

You see, the flying public is finally up in arms about the
increasingly intrusive screening we must endure to…then have
the distinct pleasure of flying on a packed airplane with minimal
to no service…unless, of course, you want to pay for it. And
that’s after you have already paid for the privilege of actually
having your baggage fly with you…plus all the other assorted
fees the airlines now add.

But I digress. Back to the screening: apparently people have had
enough, and a few groups are organizing folks to “protest” on
Wednesday by refusing to go through the scanner machines and
thereby force more pat downs.

Which, I’m sure, will thrill and delight the TSA security
personnel who are probably just dying to give these intrusive
patdowns to complete strangers. I mean, isn’t that something you
fantasize about? Having to do a deep knee bend with your face in
someone’s you-know-what so you can feel everywhere you are supposed
to be feeling?

Now, I know, there are certainly the small percentage of screeners
who are reveling in their “power” and can’t wait to feel up the
traveling public. But come on people….

I completely understand the backlash. In my humble opinion as a
one-time road warrior (pre- and post-9/11), much of what passes for
security is really just for show. Flyers are treated like cattle,
while other areas such as cargo and airport access continue to
offer disturbingly large loopholes to the bad guys – you know,
the people who should really be the focus of our ire.

Hopefully the TSA will take the critiques to heart and make some
changes.

In the meantime, travelers like us with young kids now face the
prospect of having to arrive at the airport even earlier, in case
security is clogged up by protestors. Which means even more time
at the airport and on the airplane when we will have to entertain
and distract our kids.

But I’m not complaining! We are the ones who decided to fly on
the day before Thanksgiving. So we will make the best of it.

And hopefully everyone – even the protestors, if they materialize –
will arrive safely at their destinations and enjoy a wonderful
holiday with their family and friends.

Because isn’t that the point this time of year? To focus on the
holidays and what they mean?

We are excited because we will be able to show our son Miguel
the actual site (sort of) of the First Thanksgiving: Plymouth,
Plymouth Rock, the Mayflower. The stuff he has learned about
in school will come alive for him.

And I hope this will help us better impress upon him what the
holiday is really all about.

I like Thanksgiving because it’s not about giving or receiving
gifts…at least not in the conventional sense. It’s more about
celebrating the intangible gifts and blessings we each enjoy in
our lives.

It’s also a great time to discuss the magic of gratitude. Because
one of the most powerful things you can do to improve your
overall health and feeling of wellbeing is to cultivate an
attitude of gratitude.

Sound hokey? Well, maybe it is, but it does work if you give
it a try with an open mind.

To help myself as well as you sail into the Thanksgiving
holiday in a calm, gracious manner… I will continue along this
train of thought tomorrow.

In the meantime, check out some new materials and information
at the Best Breathing Exercises website . I will also have
some new articles and “stuff” up on the site after Turkey
Day…as well as something new to announce between now and
New Year’s.

I’ll talk with you tomorrow, my friend.

You Can Do It!

www.BestBreathingExercises.com

P.S. One of the best ways to achieve a relaxed, calm state and
focus on what’s important is through your breathing. In the
Secret Power of Dynamic Energy Exercise Course, Volume I:
Invigorate and Rejuvenate, I teach you how to breathe completely
AND how to coordinate your breathing to simple but powerful
movements that spread energy effortlessly throughout your
entire body. To experience the sensation of being relaxed,
in rhythm, and in control, order your copy of program today
at the Best Breathing Exercises website.
Copyright, Karen Van Ness, 2010.