Women | Tyra Garlington

Did you know that the ugly duckling was always a swan?

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

Most people think this children’s story by Hans Christian Andersen is a story of transformation when in fact it is a story of misperception. I know I did. I kept thinking as a little girl that the ugly duckling somehow turned into a beautiful swan. I landed on this thought as I was walking through the grocery store and overheard a lovely young lady say to her companion, “I sent my photo to AmIUgly.net last night.” “What?” My head snapped. I could not believe what I was hearing. As soon as I got home I googled amiugly.net. The AmIUgly subreddit homepage delivered 102,000 results……
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What does it mean to you to go off script?

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Martin Luther King who graduated from Morehouse College after studying medicine and law had not intended to follow in his father’s footsteps by joining the ministry. Martin went off script when he changed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential theologian and outspoken advocate for racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his predominantly white senior class. In 1953, Coretta Scott who was studying voice at the New England Conservatory of Music……
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I’m sorry, I forgot to explain.

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

As I turn to face the New Year I am hesitating less about pursuing my passions. In this life season I am passionate about the strength to be vulnerable and the courage to be authentic. Admittedly I am not always successful. And I have learned to look at my imperfections as unique gifts of opportunity. Today when I look around I see a world struggling to breathe. Yet I believe in each of us is the ability to provide life-saving air. Each of us is a potential encouraging game changer even as we live life full out on our own……
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Can you cradle these transitions in 2016?

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

Last week I asked you, “What would you do if you knew you could not fail?” To answer that question you had to empower yourself to believe that impossible is merely a word to describe the degree of difficulty. This week I ask you to consider as you move from the no longer of 2015 and step into the not yet of 2016, how well you are prepared to face the typical transitions that come with the passage of time. Change can come in forcefully like a tidal wave, or creep along incrementally like a glacier. It might have the face of a devastating……
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What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

In a number of hours it will be 2016. It’s time for our New Year’s Resolutions. A New Year’s resolution is a tradition, most common in the West but found around the world, in which a person makes a promise on New Year’s Eve to make certain changes or self-improvements in the year ahead. It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year’s resolutions around 4,000 years ago, and people all over the world have been breaking them ever since! The ancient Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year, which began……
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Sometimes cliches are necessary.

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

“Let’s see what happens”, she replied. How many times had she heard and said those words? But this time was different. She was different. She had been divorced ten years. She had been alone ten years. It had taken her that long to learn to love herself again; to see herself as worthy. Now she was ready to dip her toe, perhaps her whole foot into the water. She was tired of being “singular”. Initially she had tried online dating. Perhaps because then she still saw herself as damaged, she attracted unsatisfying companions with her words. Oh, but now she……
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Read this if nobody texted you “good morning”.

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Good morning, exceptional, incredible you. Remember when I asked you how you greet the morning? Today I was writing my son his good morning text of encouragement and love. It makes me feel connected and full of joy. Actually, this morning habit is one of my “pay it forward” activity. Blogger Heidi Priebe agrees with me and wrote some time ago that good morning texts are more than a half-hearted means of communication. They are a sign that we are thought of. Cared for. Adored, by someone who may not be immediately present. They are a reminder – one we……
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Are you defined by who you were?

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

She lived in a place called shame. It was dark there. She wore clothing made from the cloth of “not enough”. She was paralyzed by the guilt of her past behavior. She could not forgive herself. And she didn’t know guilt could positively be used to move her from the darkness into the light. And so she stayed. There are many people in the world that have a problem forgiving themselves for their past mistakes and the enemy of hell tries his best to add condemnation to worsen the feelings that they have. Here is a story I have heard……
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What do you do when your heart says “STOP”?

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Yesterday I smiled way down deep inside when my cardiologist said excitedly, “Tyra, you are doing great! Your nuclear stress test shows a very healthy heart. ” Dr. Hopkins and I met on February 3, 2014. He was wearing the color blue from head to toe. Only his eyes were visible to communicate his compassion. His words pleaded, “Hang on for me Tyra, stay with me. I am going to help you.” He did not lie. I had no clue my heart was mad at me. But early that February morning it attacked me with a vengeance disguised as chills, severe nausea, extreme chest……
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What if you had to be the one?

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

At least a generation ago, singer Dusty Springfield sang a love song containing the following lyrics: “Wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’ Plannin’ and dreamin’ each night of his charms That won’t get you into his arms So if you’re lookin’ to find love you can share All you gotta do is hold him and kiss him and love him And show him that you care” Now consider this. “What if you peered into a fortune ball right now — this very second, today — and saw with indisputable clarity that you were never going to meet the love of your life?” I’m aware this is……
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