Last week in Dojo was very unique. For the first time, the Love Week was introduced to the coworking space and it gathered a great momentum.
For those of you not familiar with the event, it basically takes place during Valentine’s week. Every participant receives the name of someone to be a ”Secret Angel” to without revealing their identity. Each person is the “Secret Angel” and “a Human” to another person.
The role of all “Secret Angels” is to show love and appreciation anonymously for their “Humans” throughout Love Week in inventive, mysterious and secretive ways.
50 participants chose to give and receive love, to make one person feel special and appreciated and be appreciated and loved in return.
During the first couple of days, attentions were quite discreet and no one could really tell that something out of the ordinary was happening.
Day 3, however, marked a new turn to the event. The Love Week gift basket started to overflow with chocolate, notes, presents; members who participated were seen wearing their best smiles and a vibe of love was clearly in the air.
Members like Nour had a lot of fun preparing this week and got very inspired with their humans, like when she chose to organise a treasure hunt on the 14th:
“I put together a 5-day love experience for my human hiding gifts and notes to be found, and also asking him to film the whole experience so I could make a little edited video. On V-day, he had to jump in the pool to find a key which gave him access to my locker, full of goodies.” And her to add: “I met so many new people thanks to Love Week and I think it’s a very nice concept to implement in a workspace to increase interactions in a imaginative way.”
Her human, Håkon was thrilled by the whole experience:
“I had a very devoted Secret Angel who came up with amazingly creative challenges every day. Even though it was kind of awkward running around hugging strangers and making a gigantic splash by jumping into the pool, I felt very much loved and appreciated during the entire week.”
Charlo, a happy human, was positively surprised by the impact of the event:
“Love and happiness are contagious: I had the pleasure to receive a nice letter, a chocolate bar and an iced coffee from my “Secret Angel” on Day 1. On day 2: a big bunch of balloons were waiting for me. It made my day, set the bar for me and triggered a will to do at least as much for my secret assignee. Little, affordable attentions are super powerful. Say you get a smile, a cookie, or a compliment: this will probably raise the level of dopamine in your body and make you feel good. Chances are your day is going to be good as well and your creativity/focus improved.”
The event really brought a sense of community and belonging:
“Love Week was such a great idea! I loved to see everyone running around Dojo delivering little gifts or coffees with love notes on them – I even witnessed a serenade! It definitely lightened up the mood at Dojo, sparked our creativity and put a smile on everyone’s faces. Can we do it every month?” said Elena.
Sari, a long-time member shared:
“Love Week was fun and amazing. Robert, my Secret Angel did a great job. He sent me daily loving emails and offered me a 90-minute massage on Valentine’s Day. Can I marry him? Haha. Seriously, Love Week for me was just pure and simple happiness.”
Some secret angels like Nick even felt the generous need to extend the conscious acts of kindness to people who hadn’t registered in the first place and make them feel special too:
“As digital nomads, we never really feel grounded. We often feel lonely around the big days like Christmas, and Valentine’s. That’s why I bought chocolate for 30 of the women at the core of our entrepreneur community. Every girl deserves chocolate on Valentine’s day. The love comes from a different place.”
Dojo members connected, exchanged ideas, laughed, made plots together and took great pleasure in being selfless. Taking some of our time to make someone feel they are loved and part of something bigger is very rewarding on a personal level. Acting good makes us feel good.
On Friday, after five days of emotional rollercoaster, Secret Angels finally revealed their identities to their humans during the weekly and infamous Beach & Beers. Lots of hugging happened, rounds of drinks were bought along with promises of lunch dates and more.
Some even said that Dojo babies were on their way. Who knows?
See you next year for the second edition.
