Life lessons | Tyra Garlington

Have you ever walked into a room called shame?

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

The key that unlocks the room is shaped like a negative unexpected event or circumstance that makes us leave safe places in our lives. Shame is an existential feeling of unworthiness. Dr. Bryn Jessup says. “When people feel shame, they believe that they are ultimately an inadequate person or an unworthy person.”[1] Shame is one of the most powerful emotions that we feel. It can cause us to sever relationships, sink into depression, fuel addictions and eating disorders, and even lead to suicide. For me it was rape; years ago. Before that, shame was a term I had not associated……
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Back-to-school shopping: Bullet proof backpacks.

Posted on August 28, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“As schools across the nation prepare for the 2018-2019 educational year, parents, students, teachers, and school officials are keeping bulletproof protection and gun safety in mind, along with computers, books, lesson plans, and learning. In all, 74 percent of the 1,000 parents who participated in the national online survey said they were concerned about a school shooting happening at their child’s school this year, and 63 percent said they were more concerned than they were last year. And nearly one in five said they had already purchased some form of ballistic protection for their children. “There are very few places in America left where people……
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Back to School: Dreaming of a Clean Slate

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I love that expression: “A clean slate.” Maybe, I’d think each new school year, maybe this year would be new. So new that it would make me anew. Or at least make a new story: Frantically gathering food for the day as I rushed to be in time for the bus, stuffing my paper-bag lunch into my backpack. By mid-day, the yogurt would break open and soak into my homework & textbooks. Maybe this would be the year the yogurt stopped breaking? Desperately wishing I’d started my homework earlier. Loathing and the self-loathing Sunday-night realization that I wasn’t prepared for Monday. Maybe this would be the year……
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What was the last note you wrote to you?

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“You need to do hard things to be happy in life. The things most people avoid, such as those that make you uncomfortable, that are far easier to hide from, that others can’t do for you, that make you second-guess yourself and question how you’re going to find the strength to push forward. The hard things ultimately build you up and change your life. They make the difference between existing and living, between knowing the path and walking it, between a lifetime of empty promises and one filled with progress and fulfillment.” We distract ourselves. We procrastinate. We make excuses. ……
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Are you friends with the elephant in you?

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“Zookeepers typically strap a thin metal chain to a grown elephant’s leg and then attach the other end to a small wooden peg that’s hammered into the ground. The 10-foot tall, 10,000-pound elephant could easily snap the chain, uproot the wooden peg and escape to freedom with minimal effort. But it doesn’t. In fact, the elephant never even tries. The world’s most powerful land animal, which can uproot a tree as easily as you could break a toothpick, remains defeated by a small wooden peg and a flimsy chain. Why? Because when the elephant was a baby, its trainers used……
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A Gift for Graduates

Posted on June 5, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“This morning I was reading a book at my favorite beach-side coffee shop when an 18-year-old kid sat down next to me and said, “That’s a great read, ain’t it?” So, we started chatting. He told me he was getting ready to graduate from high school in a couple of weeks and then immediately starting his college career in the fall. “But I have no clue what I want to do with my life,” he said. “Right now, I’m just going with the flow.” And then, with eager, honest eyes, he began asking me one question after the next: “What do you……
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It’s Spring! Don’t worry; be happy.

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

There’s a truth in life that some people refuse to accept: You have no control over many of the things that happen in your life. Some people who resist this truth become control freaks. They micromanage, refuse to delegate tasks and try to force other people to change. They think if they can gain enough control over other people and the situations they find themselves in, they can prevent bad things from happening. Others know they can’t prevent bad things from happening, but they worry about them anyway. They fret about everything from natural disasters to deadly diseases. Their worries keep them occupied,……
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It’s Spring! Be imperfectly perfect.

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“Practice makes perfect.” Does this phrase, although uttered quite frequently in our society, have any truth behind it? How much practice, in fact, does it take to become “perfect”? What even is “perfect”? We have come to believe, through the influence of media, that perfect is attainable; it is something we can reach if we would just be “better”. In reality, perfection is having no flaws, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that is remotely possible. How to fix this? Well, first you have to find who you are. Whoa! That was pretty deep, wasn’t it?……
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Do more than just exist. We all exist. The question is: Are you living?

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

A while ago, I realized the course my life had taken up had been the product of other people’s ideas, opinions, and decisions. I knew all too well that life was short, yet every day I was just going through the motions and doing what I was “supposed” to do, instead of what was right for ME. I was in line. I was comfortable. And I was utterly distracted from what matters most in life. But, fast forward to today, and as I awoke this morning I marveled at my life. Where once I awoke with inner resistance at the……
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When the most wonderful time of the year isn’t …

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“Lights, lists, carols, crowds, family, the perfect gift, friends. This is often the stuff of a magical holiday. But for those living with loss, they can signal a minefield of emotions, triggers, and questions. Facing the holidays after a loss can be daunting for a child, teen, or family. Young people living with loss, no matter where they are developmental, can find the holidays as especially conflicted due to the fact that they in large part do get swept up into the energies of the season. Many often report feeling guilt or shame about wanting to participate fully in the joy and hope of the……
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