A Purpose-filled Life | Tyra Garlington

How do you get to happy?

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I am sitting on my lanai (the Florida name for a screened porch) at sunset. The tree tops seem to be swaying to the rain-like melody of my fountain. A family of Florida Sandhill Cranes have paused to listen at the edge of the pond below. Otherwise, it is quiet. I feel at peace. I feel happy. My life isn’t perfect but right this minute it feels like I think perfect might feel. And I think all the happiness you ever find lies within you. I am focusing on what is right rather than what is wrong; what is working rather……
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Surprise! You received what you needed without asking.

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I have personalized this message just for you; to encourage and empower you. The actual text and extended version can be found in the footnote.[1] When my soul is filled with grief. When everything around me is suddenly painted mean or distorted. When I overestimate my maturity, thinking what I understand will get me through the storm, only to discover it won’t. That’s when I used to hide what was true about me. That’s when I used to put on my mask. To feel particularly and uniquely not enough. To get embarrassed by my world not working was an appalling……
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Need to flip your script?

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

So it’s 2:41 a.m. and I am wandering through some old journals to see where I have been and perhaps affirming where I am going when I bumped into this random collection of thoughts. I don’t know if the exact words are mine or borrowed from someone I thought of as genius at the time, except for Michelangelo’s of course, because he was a genius. They feel encouraging. They feel empowering and they feel like they need to be shared: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it” &……
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Are you following your dreams?

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Ten proven follow-your-dream startup steps. When I was a little girl, I loved the Cinderella Fairy Tale song that said, “A dream is a wish your heart makes when you’re fast asleep. In dreams you will have no heartaches, whatever you wish for you keep.” Eventually I outgrew fairy tales, but not dreams. I believe dreams are essential to help us find and live our intended purpose-filled lives. Our dreams allow us to imagine new possibilities; they can take us anywhere, allow us to do anything in a land of unlimited opportunities. However following dreams require intentional activity and planning. And……
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How do you describe the difference between alone and lonely?

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Although Thesaurus describes “alone” as a synonym for “lonely” and vice versus, I believe they are more than synonymous. I liked Chelsea Fagan’s approach to the difference as described in a brief excerpt below. “Alone is calm. Alone is listening to the things you have to say to yourself, giving time to the more important reflections that you often allow to settle in the back of your mind like a fine dust swept under a rug.” “Lonely is allowing freedom from judgment to take root in your life, to become a reason to let things go. It is losing perspective……
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How often do you use your power to encourage?

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

In our purpose-filled lives, each of us at various times and in different ways is meant to encourage others. Our lives are not ones of isolation and independence but of relationship and interconnection. Although our talents, personalities, abilities, and backgrounds may differ, every one of us is called to develop an encouraging heart. The good news is there is no one perfect way and we even get “do overs”. We may have no idea the impact our gracious words, sound advice, or acts of kindness has on another person. At all times encouragement is intentional. It might come in the form of comforting……
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Who do you see in the mirror?

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Who you see is based on how you feel about who you are. Blogger Marc Chernoff says, “You can be the most amazing human being in the world and everyone sees rays of light, love and genius when they look at you. But if you yourself don’t know it, all of that external admiration doesn’t matter one bit.” It was like Marc had read the script of my life. I saw a reflection that said successful but unfulfilled, affiliated but not connected, living the life I should, and not the life I wanted. My reflection didn’t look like the person others seemed……
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Do you feel like you are second in line?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

What if I told you there is no line? There is you and your dreams and your talents and your hopes. There is your pain, your sorrow and your shame. Then there is your purpose, the reason you are on this earth. Purpose is that for which we are designed. That for which we are perfect. Purpose is our what, our when, and our how. It is knowing why we are. Our generation is evidence this generation needs something that our life contains. Our birth is evidence that our purpose is necessary. And yet many of us go through life……
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Are you Daddy’s little girl?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I’m writing this on my Daddy’s birthday. He died in 1976. Each year I write him a letter on his birthday. I celebrate his ongoing encouragement that helped me walk into my purpose. Today I write to you about him. Maybe you will find your father somewhere in what I am about to say. I hope that you can appreciate that even as a mature woman, I have moments when I feel like Daddy’s Little Girl. I discovered that Daddy had special insight about how to nurture me through difficulties as well as help me dwell in possibilities. I did……
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Who is the person sitting next to you?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Have you ever sat on a plane or in a park, or at a meeting and wondered “Who is the person sitting next to you?” You can see how tall she is and the color of her hair or skin. You may have heard her in conversation with someone that helped you discover more. But just imagine that nine-tenths of her possibilities have not yet been touched off. There is all kind of “good” that is struggling to be born from way inside. There are also worries, fears, doubts, that are wondering how to be expressed. Deep within her is……
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