Personal Empowerment | Tyra Garlington

What do you do when the truth as you know it isn’t anymore?

Posted on August 19, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

For me it was Santa Claus, then the Easter Bunny and then the Tooth Fairy. Their reality and disappearances were accompanied by the most unusual stories that I believed because Mother and Daddy said so. Santa Clause eventually morphed into the “spirit of giving” and remains that in my heart even today. As I grew spiritually I found new joy during this season anticipating and celebrating the birth of “Mary’s Baby Boy”, Jesus. The Easter Bunny became a festive sugary centerpiece on the dining room table during the most spiritual Christian season of the year. I’m not sure what happened……
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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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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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Sometimes exhaustion is the first step forward.

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Have you ever been tired? I mean tired to the bone? I had an unsettling conversation with a friend at lunch this week. At some point she stopped eating and said, “Tyra I am exhausted! I am tired of being tired.” When she did, I could actually feel her pain. I sat silent remembering those words coming from my own mouth a few years ago. She went on to say that she didn’t know why she was so miserable. She loved teaching at the community college, even though she no longer had time to write poetry, which was her passion.……
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Do you have a special needs child?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

My friend does. As I watched her accept the news and then wait, I realized what a wonderful person she was. She defined her special child as a “priceless blessing” and she was the perfect steward. I wanted to support her in every possible way. I needed more information. I was inspired by the following article from a mother raising a child with intellectual disabilities. Emily Perl Kingsley wrote this article to provide an encouraging and alternative perspective. It reads: WELCOME TO HOLLAND “I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to……
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