Women | Tyra Garlington

What do you do when you can’t do you?

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

During my season of recovery, I am unable to a be fully me. And I am uncomfortable that I need so much help. I’m used to being the “helper”. Nevertheless, without my asking, it’s like all my needs have been anticipated and perfect responses are in place and on time. It’s odd how I am struggling with receiving love from so many; the very thing my soul desires. In the meantime, I am occupied practicing the grace of gratitude. In an effort to fill the time between all the things I need to but can’t do, I am spending time with……
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When necessary, who reminds you who you are?

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

As they rolled me from recovery into my hospital room, I came more awake. The nurse adjusted the tubes and my pillows. She smiled and asked me how I was feeling. I opened my mouth to answer, and nothing came out. I tried again and again, and nothing came out. Each time the pain felt like more. The nurse responded to the terrified look on my face and gently explained that my vocal chords had been impacted during the surgery. They would need time to heal. But here’s the thing. The week prior to my unexpected surgery, I was sitting……
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Want to see what grandmother left behind?

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“When my grandmother, Zelda, passed away a decade ago at the age of 90, she left me with a box of miscellaneous items from her house that she knew I had grown to appreciate over the years. Among these items is an old leather-bound journal that she aptly named her Inspiration Journal. Throughout the second half of her life, she used this journal to jot down ideas, thoughts, quotes, song lyrics, and anything else that moved her. She would read excerpts from her journal to me when I was growing up, and I would listen and ask questions. I honestly……
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The Job is Yours if You Want It

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Let me rephrase that. The job is yours whether you want it or not. “Little girls learn a lot from the women they grow up around, whether they are related or not. Older women are like midwives who assist in the birth of a young woman’s consciousness. It is not just what they do; it’s who they are, and how they demonstrate who they are, that provides young women with “womanhood training.” Young women and girls learn about themselves and what it means to be a woman by watching older women in their lives. They watch how and what, (and……
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Leadership Lessons from the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Let’s say goodbye to Women’s History month from the meeting place of reality and make-believe. “Many say the character of Belle (Beauty) is a throwback from a sexist fairy tale and that her life as an animated Disney princess is shallow. Others say she may have been modernized as a powerful heroine in this iteration, a working woman played by a real-life feminist. In this latest version, Belle is an inventor, one who creates the washing machine so she can spend more time reading. She is a tech innovator, a start-up entrepreneur, a role model for women’s leadership. We acknowledge deeply that……
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Can you remember once upon a time?

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

It took me a while to accept the fact that once upon a time never comes again. And thus, remembering will have to do. Once upon a time, March 21st was the day Mother would awaken to breakfast in bed, a dozen red roses, lots of singing and hugs and presents from Daddy and me. We treated birthdays as both intimate and big moments. We saw one another as gifts that God had given to us and the world. Once upon a time, Mother was a single parent while Daddy was away at war and disabled in a Veterans Hospital.……
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Are you every woman?

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

“Strength has no gender.” “Our history is our strength.” “Writing women back into history.” “Know your history, know your power.” A few reminders that March is Women’s History Month. I encourage you to celebrate today and everyday women everywhere for their strength and resilience and legacies. Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated……
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Legacy is for life and living

Posted on January 8, 2017 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Did you know that: The best place to plant a young tree: is in a clearing in an old-growth forest and not an open field. Why Tyra, I’m glad you asked. Ecologists tell us that a young tree grows better when it’s planted in an area with older trees. Now, this is the good part. The reason, it seems, is that the roots of the young tree are able to follow the pathways created by former trees and implant themselves more deeply. Over time, the roots of many trees may actually graft themselves to one another, creating an intricate, interdependent……
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Don’t look too closely.

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

The famous French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes, also known as the Father of Modern Philosophy, said the words “I think therefore I am.” We have a large body of mental health research that supports the fact that our thoughts are our most powerful force. “When you step out your door to face the world, you are a force to be reckoned with. You are confident, determined, and very much in control in most areas of your life. This is your dominant mask that the world sees, and to others, you can be quite intimidating! You chase your dreams and get……
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How certain instants in our lives make us who we are

Posted on July 6, 2016 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I spent all last week with pre-teens at Vacation Bible School. Loving and listening to them reminded me that who they may see in the mirror may, for varying reasons, be created by the words of others. Shane Koyczan’s spoken-word poetry pays tribute to the consequences of our language. If you have children in your life, it is a magnificent read. I have provided an edited excerpt here. To This Day for the Bold and the Beautiful When I was a kid, I hid my heart under my bed, because my mother said, “If you are not careful, someday someone’s……
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