Several members of the ServiceSpace ecosystem had the opportunity to attend the recent Wisdom2.0 gathering in the bay, I wanted to relay a couple experiences from the weekend.
On the day of arrival, I took a cab to the conference venue. While in the cab, the driver asked me where I was headed, and the only response I could think of was ‘we’re headed to a gathering on love and giving’ – we both agreed this was a useful way to spend time :)

After a short conversation on kindness and generosity as a concrete way to share love, I had arrived at my destination. Thinking that I’d drive home the point, I gave a larger than normal tip along with a Smile Card. The request to the driver was to pay this forward however he wished, perhaps smiles to future patrons, small discount, etc. The driver really liked this idea and said he’d love to drive me elsewhere if it was needed. He scribbled his number down on a sheet and handed it to me. I was not planning on needing a cab for the rest of my trip, but took his offering in gratitude.

After our goodbyes, I wrote a few emails before heading in the conference center’s coat check area. It was then that I realized a gaffe – I had left my luggage in the trunk of the cab! I looked at my pockets and found the number of the driver and immediately felt gratitude for the connection created that led to his share. When on the line, the driver told me that his shift was up and he had given the car to another driver, but that he ‘remembered me, liked out conversation, and will try to help.’ Over the next 4 hours he found the driver, explained to him the situation, and got my bag back to me. Unbelievable start to my experience. And, a fantastic reminder that there is no ‘giving’ or ‘receiving’, just ‘dancing’ :)


Another small vignette – On the second day of the gathering, Bhoutik was noticing that the ‘power of small’ could use a bit more representation, so he offered to host a ‘conversation table’ (see pic above) on the topic of small acts of kindness. It was simply an open invitation to share, and ended up attracting over about 20 people over the course of the nearly 2 hour conversation (which was originally slated to last for an hour). All through the process was Bhoutik holding space for authentic shares, stories, and questions. The ripples have been everything from positive comments, to kind acts in next few days and beyond, to additional attendance at Wednesdays!

Last share from internal perspective – The gathering of people at this space held a lot of collective goodwill, and on the first day of the gathering I found myself being so moved by the people I was ‘running into’ that I wanted to not only give by being present but also through offerings. Starting the second day (and taking the cue from my ServiceSpace friends!) I decided to stuff my pockets with small gifts so that I’d have something physical to offer in addition to whatever could be offered intangibly. My thought wasn’t to necessarily offer something of high financial value, but more as a physical representation of my sentiment and heart. Was really grateful that many folks understood that sentiment and stood in that space of giving with me.

So grateful for this ecosystem to have seeded these types of ideas within me, hope everyone keeps sharing their journeys!