Look Again

Bring on the Chandelier

Re-imagining the Flower Stand

A modern coffee shop

It is Saturday.  I wake up at 3:30 in the morning and I can't sleep.  Sometimes this time in the morning brings the unusual quiet I need to think.  What do I do?  Well, naturally, I start up my computer and decide to listen to a message on being limitless.  Now that is a sure way to get me back to sleep!

The message challenges me in this quiet hour of the morning with two words: "Look again."  Being limitless means being able to go back and see something (even if it just feels like a little bit of nothing) from a different perspective, with an eye of appreciation, or a mind that inquires, "How can I make something more of this?"

It is like going back in the kitchen cupboards and seeing what kind of meal you can create out of a few ingredients.  It can be very limiting to have only a few things, but it may also inspire a new and creative recipe.

I was inspired all week to test this out.  Pictured above are places where I looked again at Cleveland. This city is a place that is being reborn, and every time I venture out, I find a surprise by giving myself permission to look again.

So, I embarked on some adventures inspired by those very words.  I enjoyed a day at the park right in my neighborhood, wading in a creek, walking through the trees, and eating PB & J on a big swing while the kids played on the playground. 

I took a lunch break to check out the amazing new chandelier in Playhouse Square.  The design is fascinating, and I am really curious to see how it bears these Cleveland winters!  I can already imagine the beautiful crystals glistening above the snowy streets.

Then, I had a fabulous time at the 5th Street Arcades on Thursday.  It is buzzing with coffee and tea shops, clothing stores, and plenty of food places that include sugary treats to vegan delights.  I even picked up a little bunch of paper roses at a fresh take on a flower shop called Love Anji.  My lunch walk reminded me to notice the stunning architecture of the arcades, with intricate details in the buildings and wonderful sky lights.

So, the 5 workshop sends a challenge your way this spring. 
Look again.  Before condemning something or writing it off as nothing, take a second look.  Take even a little bit of something and build on it.  From the message: "Look again.  Go look again in your community, in your church, in your city, in your home, in your family, in your marriage . . . Go look again!"

It works everywhere.  Sometimes, we even write ourselves off as people who don't have anything really great to give.  We may have failed or took a detour on our life journey. 
We may even write others off as being useless or lacking potential or worse yet, total failures.  Well, what if we look again?  We all love the idea of buried treasure . . . so let's find one thing we can appreciate.  And then take it one more step:  see how we can turn it into something more.

leadership lesson:  Looking again is a great way to see potential that leads to transformation.

dream builder: Looking again may inspire a new adventure or spark a new idea on something where we felt all hope was lost.

If you want to know more about the 5th Street Arcades, take a peek at the website!  The story is sure to inspire.

http://www.5thstreetarcades.com/info/aboutUs