A Flight to Nowhere…

Greetings dear friends & welcome to my world again this week. Here is a sign of the times: an airport is offering passengers who really miss air travel a trip to nowhere.

The Songshan airport in Taipei made the offer earlier this month receiving about seven thousand applications. Sixty people were chosen for the half-day "trips" which will continue over the next couple of weeks. 

Those selected for the phony flights receive boarding passes & go through the typical security process as if they are traveling internationally. They gather at the gate, then board an Airbus A330 of Taiwan's largest carrier. However, the plane goes nowhere. After a while, the lucky passengers return to the same gate they left. 

In a similar vein, Walmart is turning 160 of its parking lots into drive-in movie theatre to offer contactless film premieres. Besides movies, the family-friendly nights will feature special appearances from filmmakers & celebrities. 

Customers will order concessions online for curb side pickup or delivery to their vehicles. The movies will begin next month & run until October. 

These are just two examples of the many ways people are adjusting to the worldwide pandemic. From remote offices to online shopping to sports without fans, many are doing their best to make the best of these unprecedented days. 

Here is another way to respond.

Dr. Barbara Lee Fredrickson is a psychology professor & head of the Positive Emotions & Psychophysiology Lab at the University of North Carolina. She & her team did a survey to ask people about their daily activities & correlate them with the degree to which they experienced negative or positive emotions. 

Unsurprisingly, they found people who spent time passively scrolling social media or interacting with people only through chat or text were most likely to report negative emotions. By contrast, these activities were more likely to be associated with positive emotions:

• Exercise
• Self-care (such as participating in hobbies or relaxing)
• Engaging in spiritual activities (including prayer or meditation)
• Interacting with other people, especially via video or face-to-face interactions
• Going out of their way to help other people.