RENEW FOR SPRING TAKE A CUE FROM NATURE

With a change in weather, the air is literally singing with the excitement nature brings at this time of year. You may or may not be crushing goals you set in the new year, but spring is the perfect season to get inspired and renew your resolve to be your best, do your best and live your best life.

Bastrop County is a great place to take a cue from nature regarding renewal. We can experience it all around us at this time of year, in our many parks, along the river and on our country roads through rolling hills, green pastures and pine trees.

Bastrop's Dr. Sandra Dunkin, MD shares, “Hiking in nature is one of my favorite mindfulness practices.”

Dr. Dunkin graduated summa cum laude from Texas A&M University with a bachelor of science degree in Nutritional Sciences. She attended medical school at Texas A&M University College of Medicine in College Station where she obtained her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. She completed her four year residency training in general psychiatry at The University of Texas Dell Medical School in Austin and now serves Austin and Central Texas from her office in downtown Bastrop.

She advises, "Spring is a great opportunity for new perspectives. Often we get stuck in an old thought pattern that brings the same old negative emotions. Look for a new way to think about a situation that can result in a renewed and more tranquil state. My best advice is to ask yourself, “Is that thought helpful?”