Life lessons | Tyra Garlington

REWIND: There is a place where lost, lonely, and left out youth can write their second story.

Posted on January 7, 2019 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“David has been homeless since the age of 12. He first started “couch surfing”, but by age 17 David ran out of places to visit and ended up on the streets. Even while living on the streets, David worked hard to stay in school. A social worker eventually connected with David and let him know about the youth shelter where he currently lives. Penny says he has been hopping trains for a few months now, but he has been for almost a year. Jimi has been traveling for the better part of two years. She took a few months to “kick……
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Christmas Wish #5 Inspiration

Posted on December 25, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Strongest Dad in the World by Rick Reilly for Sports Illustrated “Eighty-five times Dick Hoyt pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars – all in the same day. Dick’s also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right? And what has Rick done……
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Christmas Gift #4 You don’t have to be a people pleaser.

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“If you spend your life pleasing others, you spend your life.” ~Cheryl Richardson Looking back on my life, I came to realize that I spent quite a high amount of my precious time trying. Trying to be perfect. Trying to be appreciated and liked by everyone else around me. Trying to fit in with different groups of people so that I could feel accepted and approved. I can recall many situations in my life when I did things I didn’t really want to do to comfort or please others. I wanted people to like me. I expected them to give me the……
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Once Upon a Time 100 Years Ago

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“World War I is among the least documented wars of those covered by the Veterans History Project, and the number of collections relating its experiences is not likely to grow dramatically. Because all but a handful of WWI vets are no longer alive, oral history interviews are out of the question, so we must rely on the generosity of relatives and friends of deceased veterans to donate written accounts in letters, diaries, and memoirs, as well as precious collections of photographs. Every veteran has his or her own war, and each is the custodian of a unique story and memories. [1] ……
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Loving and Being Loved: Self Compassion as a Pathway to Connection

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Many of us can probably remember a time when we fell madly in love, convinced that our beloved was our life’s crucial missing piece. Fiery for this new person, we believed that we must be with them in order to be happy! Of course, part of the human condition is the deep desire to be seen and loved. And so, when we are marinating in the hormone cocktail of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine which fuel the early infatuation stage of the relationship, we are experiencing the very real effects of the “most addictive substance on earth.1” We are easily swept……
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About the Precious Little Time, You Have Left

Posted on November 3, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

A Good Girl (Who Didn’t Make It) “Alyssa was my best friend. She was a talented musician, a graceful gymnast, a brilliant writer, and a deeply passionate human being. She cared about people. Love bled from every facet of her being. When she spoke, her eyes were as sincere as her words. And she always wanted to understand what was wrong so she could strive to make it better. But Alyssa woke up one day during her senior year in college with a strange pain in her chest. The on-campus doctors didn’t understand why, so they referred her to a……
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My heart cried last week: Part two

Posted on October 23, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

This is a continued conversation about sexual assault and why women don’t tell sooner, or ever. Last, week in part one I introduced the concept from my personal sexual abuse rear-view mirror. The words here are not meant to indict, but to shout comfort in the fact that none of us has to feel alone ever again. Our voices heal! Last week we talked about feelings of shame. Victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault in adulthood or sexual abuse in childhood tend to feel shame because as human beings, we want to believe that we have control over what happens to……
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The easy things aren’t always the right things.

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“When I was in elementary school my parents told me, it didn’t matter what I did when I grew up, so long as it made me happy. “Happiness is the whole point of life”, my father said. “But it doesn’t always come easy. Your mother loves to help people in need, so she became a psychiatric nurse. I love reading, writing, and poetry, so I became an English teacher. We both find happiness in the hard work we do each day.” A few years later when I was in junior high, my sixth-grade homeroom teacher put me in detention for……
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Are the “Man Code” and “self-compassion” enemies?

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I recently overheard a father telling his preteen son what it means to be a man. It prompted sharing the following blog. “At the age of ten a boy begins imitating a man. And he continues doing this for the rest of his life.” -Mark Twain Most guys get lessons on how to live by the “boy code” from an early age—in families, playgrounds, schools, churches and temples, and on the streets. Even very young boys learn to “keep a stiff upper lip,” “not show their feelings,” “act real tough,” “not act too nice,” and “be cool.” Since the surest……
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September is Suicide Prevention Month

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

When a family member commits suicide, the entire family is plunged into confusion and grief. Life is instinctually valued by all of life’s creatures. Even a blade of grass of a flower fights for the privilege of life. When someone close to you voluntarily ends their life, your entire value system is thrown into question. Family members may also be consumed with guilt thinking they somehow should have seen the signs that led to the individual’s suicide. Consider My Best Friends Departure by © Carina Spencer I jumped, you caught me. I laughed, you joked. I was down, you picked me up.……
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