Tyra Garlington | Tyra Garlington

Mohammed Ali was the greatest and so are you.

Posted on June 1, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I was sitting down to write my weekly blog when this email popped up from a Rotary friend and globally requested speaker/trainer, Michael Caruso. I couldn’t help myself, I just had to share. I made one adjustment and included the entire quote from Marianne Williamson at the end. Michael can be reached at Michael Caruso michael@michaelangelocaruso.com. Was he “the greatest?” People are saying nice things about Muhammad Ali. The boxer died last week at age 74 and almost every epitaph has referred to him as “the greatest.” It’s instructional to note that Ali had referred to himself as “the greatest”……
Read More »

What does it cost to be a living memorial?

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Before starting to celebrate Memorial Day, let’s take a moment to review the history behind the observance. It’s more than just a long weekend full of barbecue — it’s a patriotic holiday intended to honor the Americans who have protected the country. Memorial Day was started as a way to remember the more than 620,000 people who died in Civil War, which has been called the bloodiest conflict on U.S. soil. The first official Memorial Day observance took place in 1866 in Carbondale, Illinois, but the official “birthplace of Memorial Day” is Waterloo, New York, according to CNN. At the time, it was referred to……
Read More »

Being you is the right thing to do.

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Sitting in the large stadium enjoying the commencement festivities, I watched graduates exchange enthusiastic handshakes for rolled-up pieces of paper symbolizing the successful end of a season. Apparently graduates brought along their own cheering section with specific instructions on how and what to scream. In the midst of the noise, the echoes in my mind traveled back to my graduation day at Ohio State University. As I walked across the stage, I looked down at my beautiful engagement ring and squeezed the simulated diploma. I just knew that I was walking into that happily ever after I had been waiting……
Read More »

Every day is immediate.

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I like to greet the morning with gratitude. I intentionally focus on my body celebrating that I can move, see, feel, think, hear and care. I am aware it didn’t have to be this way and I remember there was a season when it wasn’t. Then as I tune into messages from the world, I long for a day without war, a time where empathy is an effective weapon against hate and when all human life is considered worthy. Apparently not yet. Sometimes my sense of powerlessness to make things better feels like grief. It was like that Sunday. I……
Read More »

If not for you.

Posted on May 10, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Nina Simone wrote, “Everything must change, nothing stays the same, Everyone must change, no one stays the same The young become the old, mysteries unfold Cause that’s the way of time, nothing and no one goes unchanged.” I recently began to appreciate that the part of me that is the most easily lost or changed is also the part of me that is most easily cherished. I have had to learn to be brave enough to know who I am and let me be her. “The young become the old.” My birthday yesterday reminded me that I have lived longer……
Read More »

What are you leaving behind?

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”[1] Was Cicero profiling you? “I will never forget the gut-level conviction he had that we are all expressions of God and that we all should step up and live our God selves. And now that he is gone, I remember the haunting lines of a song he sang beautifully though he did not write, What if God was one of us?”[2] This is Harriette Cole remembering Prince this week. Based on what I have researched and heard since his death leads me to believe that Prince’s biggest……
Read More »

How do you smuggle hope into hopelessness?

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

We planned to meet for some “quality time”. It had been a while since we shared a hug. As I approached the table I felt her sense of hopelessness before I saw the pain in her eyes. It was time for me to crawl into that dark space with her and be. I knew the story, I knew the journey. I knew her. I call her friend. So many things crossed my mind to say as I listened. I watched her mouth tremble as she tried to dam up the tears that leaked from her heart. We had been here……
Read More »

Have you seen a poem as lovely as a tree?

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I have. My love affair with trees began when I was six years old. We moved from our public housing apartment to our first home. In the back yard was a huge maple tree, my first friend. She stood watch outside my bedroom window. At night, the moonlight and my tree made shadows dance on my wall to remind me that I was not alone. In summer, my tree provided shade for Mother and me to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on a blanket at lunchtime. My first puppy tried to build a relationship with my tree by peeing……
Read More »

Goodness and mercy do follow me.

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I recently went to dinner at a home where I knew relaxation and compassion lived. I was exhausted! My commitments had outpaced my energy the week before. I needed the unconditional love that would answer the door. I would not be judged or questioned for my silent but hungry hugs. I plopped down where I could see the activity and yet not be necessary to it. I imagined what words would write themselves if others could see us. Activities were based on age and role. The “Youngers” played until they ran hot and needed water. The “Tweens” looked away from their……
Read More »

Are you in need of your immediate inner strength?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

She had disappeared from my life years ago. I was so happy to hear her voice. She had been a wonderful friend to me in my time of need. Her story unfolded amongst sobs. I listened. She recently became singular as a result of rejection from her significant other. She was unemployed, about to be homeless and estranged from her only daughter. I listened. The few times I asked, “Have you…?” Her response was, “I can’t because…” I realized her pain had her stuck in anger and shame. I was reminded of how proud she was. She was used to……
Read More »

Author Archives: Tyra Garlington