Behind this statement above, quoted by a good friend and former mentor of mine lies a staggering amount of knowledge, experience and an important life lesson learned through making a “mistake”. Allow me to elaborate.

This is because we all have our own back story, our own worries, anxiety or our perspective on how we see the world. Past trauma, experiences or just a combination of things that happen in our day can all lead to misinterpretation.

Except when someone just replies with “k”. That one is obvious!

Advertisement

The most memorable lesson of this for me was when I sent a long-winded email at work outlining some real changes that needed to happen within the department. I was on point and conveyed nothing but facts but unfortunately, my position at the time was not that of one who should be pointing those things out to upper management. I was confused as to why it was so poorly received and that’s when I got the simple quote that “everyone sees stuff different.”

Seeing things from someone else’s perspective or “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes” is NOT an easy thing to do. We’re all here writing our own story day by day through life and we can never fully understand the way someone else sees the world unless we take the time to open up, put our own story aside for a minute and listen to someone else’s. Practicing this will absolutely make one wiser as multiple perspectives and understanding are very important parts required to help others.

So, here’s some perspective about myself. I’m a guy who had to learn the hard way about so many things. I have countless stories, life experiences, heartbreak, success, failure and everything in between. I also have a group of extremely like-minded and intelligent friends. For the past year I have been putting my life back together for like the 5th time in 12 years but this time, I’m realizing that the information, life lessons and wisdom that comes from all of this could be extremely helpful to people who are hungry for knowledge whether they know it or not.

My hope for this article is to be able to share stories and convey the lessons learned from countless sources about anything and everything. We will be posting on things like failed relationships, successful ones, how to change a tire, music, flat earth, aliens and the fact the Joe Biden might be a robot.

My fiancé and I are from Oak & Aspen Design and one of our many goals is to give back to our wonderful community of Fort McMurray by sharing information, helping teens and fellow community members, providing services and hopefully some entertainment along the way.

My name is Jarid and I’ve been a part of Fort McMurray since 2008, Mercy has been a part of this place since 2014 and this town will always be a part of who we are. I’m proud to consider us locals and we are planning to stay. The talented and knowledgeable people I’ve met along the way are unlike any other place I’ve ever been. We have such a unique style, and work ethic and we’re all tougher than nails. These are the values I want to give to the younger generation and hope that we can help anyone who’s in need…at least until the aliens come.