A very dear friend recently introduced me to the music of Forrest Frank and his story of amazing, miraculous healing. After sustaining a major back injury where he fractured two vertebrae in his spine after falling off a skateboard while playing with his son, he recovered in just two weeks. It was indeed miraculous considering that the normal time of repair, with total rest and restricted in a back brace, is up to three months!
During his time of short recovery Forrest wrote the song ‘Lemonade’ which, within just a week of release in early August this year, received over 3million digital streams. It essentially focuses on that old adage which proclaims when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! There is nothing joyful about having a broken back, but he found positives in the hand that he had been dealt, and declared “God works everything for the better, no matter what the weather … He knots it all together, cosier than a sweater”!
We have all gone through hard times and challenges, and can think the direst of thoughts about what’s ahead. In the midst of darkness we can lose sight of all the victories we have had, all the situations and circumstances we have overcome, and even negate our accomplishments and the countless blessings of the past and even the present.
Indeed it’s human to get down and disillusioned when the slings and arrows of life hit us like a bull’s eye! And it’s perfectly natural to react to the pain of situations that drag us down. But it’s the way we react that reveals where we are in the process of growth and healing. To ‘go down’ and not be able to get back up when disappointments happen can reveal a deeper set of circumstances in our lives which can only be addressed and remedied with the love and support of others, and a deep revelation within ourselves that dark days and disappointment s do not and should never define us. Nor should they ever suggest a fatalistic future or direction ahead.
The ‘trick’ is to make lemonade from the lemons of life.
And I don’t say ‘trick’ lightly, as the process of looking for and focusing on the positives is a life-long learning and healing process that can take all our fortitude, resolve, resilience and prayer, and can bring many tears … but ultimately great joy. It’s a process of understanding. And with understanding we get wisdom – the greatest tool we can have in the toolbox to weather the storms of today and tomorrow, and to help us search for and find the lessons of dark days and discover the opportunities that they ultimately present.
My ‘making lemonade’ story, like Forrest Franks’s, involves a fracture, but not of my back … though plummeting from the attic and fracturing the tibial plateau of my right leg has, seven years down the track, had a major impact on my spine. A resultant acute sciatic condition sometimes results in chronic pain and limits former activities. I’m grateful all the wonderful support and attention I’ve received over recent times, not the mention the love and support of the world’s greatest doctor who has been looking after me for over 25 years.
So, at a crossroad and wondering what it has all been about, and where life was heading, I had to take a long hard look at where I have come from, what I had achieved professionally over the years, and what I wanted to do that I would really enjoy. Not just a job that would pay the bills, but something where I could utilise all my years of experience and the skills I had acquired, as well as being able to indulge the creative talents I had been blessed with, doing so with passion.
Serendipitously, dear friends made contact at a very low point and offered me a freelance graphic design role which allows me the opportunity to use a certain range of skills and knowledge I have acquired over many years of being in the publishing industry. But more than this, when the initial offer was made, the opportunity allowed me to embrace a degree of optimism in future days and gave me a sense of purpose once again.
But the biggest boost to such things came with a request to prepare a Blue Mountains property for sale. Operated as an Air Bed & Breakfast business, the ‘mock Georgian’ house consisted of a décor of muted greys and whites, marble and laminated wood flooring. There was no colour, no cosiness and very little character.
Having been the editor of one of Australia’s leading bimonthly home decorating titles for well over a decade, not to mention the Managing Editor role of Project & Kit Homes, and Editor of titles such as French Style, Period Style, Essential Kitchen Design and numerous other national magazines, I have a wealth of experience and knowledge as to how to make a house a home … and a functional, welcoming and saleable one at that. Add to my resume over a decade of experience in the retailing of homewares and accessories for every part of the house and a myriad of decorating styles. I thus I felt confident to embrace the challenge.
My approach to home decorating has always been in step with the mantra to use what you’ve got and make the most of it! Back in the days of my flagship title ‘Australian Country Collections’, the essential success of the long-running title was the showcasing of real people and real decorating ideas and solutions, inspiring others with sometimes simple, sometimes elaborate interior treatments to not only make the most of the property but to reflect the personality of the people living within the homes we showcased. Even in the process of styling so many properties for photography and magazine coverage, home owners were often amazed at how welcoming and different a room could become as I simply moved their treasures around, added simple accessories and created flow and function.
And so, with the recent mountain’s project completed – and man, many others before them – I reasoned that it is time to take the bull by the horns and ‘get serious’ about offering such services to others. Thus creation of my own design and styling consultancy business has finally come to be!
At the heart of my new business RickRutherfordsDesign is the mission to work with home owners, planners and even builders to create ‘real homes for real people’ … not looks and designs that only work within the pages of glossy titles and have no practical application to the everyday lifestyles and the needs of the people living with the four walls of the house.
In step with this mission is the commitment to offer real people simple and practical hands-on advice and to work to any budget, no matter how big or small. It’s a very exciting prospect to be able to offer all my years of experience and knowledge to others so they can truly enjoy where they live and really make it home. Indeed there is lots of lemonade days ahead!
Until next time
Rick xxx