Poem - Conscious Speed Dating
About
Conscious Speed Dating
This is dating done very differently,
because we are inspired to deliver.
On a mindful version of Cupid,
with love-drenched arrows in his quiver.
None of us are new to dating,
so we know that the status quo is pretty crap.
With zero accountability between people,
who swipe mindlessly on an app.
So turn your phone off,
you won't need them in this place.
We can hold each other to confidentiality,
this is a supportive space.
What we stand for is a better dating community,
with kindness and deep in-person connection,
Every person here,
deserving of love and affection.
We call it "conscious speed dating",
because our vision is motivated by heart.
We add many moments to pause, to breathe, and to reflect,
because that is where true magic starts.
You have the chance to write sweet appreciation messages,
at the end of each eight-minute date.
Perhaps there was zero romantic or sexual attraction,
but this might be your new wingperson and best mate.
Each of us is a different beautiful flavor of ice cream,
and the person you marry may not be in this class.
But maybe you set someone up with your best friend,
a roommate, or your sexy ex-lover with the extremely cute ass.
People don’t like it...
when facilitators get unrelatably woo-woo or preachy.
But everyone loves a meaningful message wrapped in a poem,
and I like to be cheeky.
Our goal is to raise the standards,
of integrity and honesty on dates.
If we were all just honest about our intentions and situation,
wow, wouldn’t that be great?
MEN... please be gentlemen,
be sweet and open her door.
Treat every woman here as a goddess,
someone to adore.
Don’t use spiritual pick-up lines,
just to try to get laid.
If you are poly or actively sleeping around right now,
then that’s the honest thing you should say.
WOMEN... please be understanding,
men have poor societal conditioning and we are proven less smart.
But we’ve all felt brutal rejection and ghosting,
or had our hearts torn apart.
You’ve been conditioned to people-please,
but don’t hesitate to say:
You are awesome and I see you becoming a good friend,
can I help your journey to love in some other way?
If you are lucky enough after this event,
to go on a date or two,
please be radically honest about your situation and true intentions,
because it’s the right thing to do.
This community is small, it talks,
we want to keep it loving and kind.
We’d love you to show up at our next event and say:
I brought an amazing ex of mine!
Today you can be vulnerable,
you might share sad stories and great stories too.
Today is about building amazing experiences,
and we’re all advocates for love in all forms.
... and we’re all rooting for you.
-- by Andrew Noske
Inspiration
On August 25th, 2024 my friend Anna and I hosted the first-ever "Conscious Speed Dating" in Brisbane. It was Anna's idea, and I'm sure it's not the first in the world, but together we came up with some fairly novel ideas, such as the use of a "love pouch" to fill with "appreciation cards", giving kind words and - if you wanted - some kind of contact details or social handle if you were interested in a date. We also had amazing activities at each table, so each date would be a very different experience, and each beautiful in its own way. Anyhow, turns our our introduction was over 20 minutes, and so I actually thought sharing a poem to explain the vision and how we hoped people would behave, might make the next one shorter... and just be a fun break from normal talking. I got some amazing feedback from two of my female friends and decided to post it here. Hopefully, I'll be reading it soon at the next one!
See Also
| Acknowledgements: The incredible Anna Renee for asking me to co-host this event. We've only hosted one so far, but it's already been an unforgettable roller coaster and the sweet thins people said about it afterwards was incredible. |
