#HeightenedSenses in #Nature #March #2023 Well, thanks for being with me for another Nature Walk Talk. Today was so gorgeous. I just wanted to come outside and share with you the magnificence of the sky and the sea and the sand and the plants. It's just incredible. And I wanted to remind you, and every time I come outside, I remind myself, of the benefits of being in nature. There's a whole field now called nature therapy and ecological therapy. And what is it? It's really the opportunity to find what we need inside of ourselves with a bit of a push from nature. Why? Because being in nature sharpens our focus. It helps us to pay closer attention, and it also gives us a feeling of really being connected with the earth, with the sky, with the sea, with nature. It's an evolutionary part of who we are. And being in buildings all day and being on screens all day is really antithetical to what is natural for us. So please take time and just be aware of your heightened senses when you're in nature. Feel the breeze on your skin, listen carefully to the wind, watch carefully when you notice plants and flowers or sand, and just spend time examining. The other thing is, that's when you do that with intention, you can also do it unintentionally. Just be in nature. You'll get the benefits of being in nature. How? Because you'll be aware, and it will make you feel connected. Take time for yourself, for your essence, and connect with nature. You won't regret it. Thanks for joining me on this Nature Walk Talk. #NatureWalks #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #NatureWalkTalks #DrDaleAtkins #naturetherapy #focus #connection #heightenedsenses #listen #watch https://www.instagram.com/p/CqQtrmnJoWv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Don't Be Afraid to #AskForHelp #LiveBetterSeries with #DrDaleAtkins Thanks for joining me for the Live Better Series. Today, I want you to think about what it's like for you to ask for help. We all need help sometimes, and some of us are reluctant to ask for help. We want to do it ourselves, whatever the it is. Or maybe we did whatever this chore was or this experience we had, and we were so happy that we did it ourselves. And now we're tired or we're distracted or we just need some help, but we're reluctant to ask for help. Most of us are happy to help someone else when they need help, but I'd like us all to kind of just take a breath and reflect on what it means to you to ask for help because you still finish the job. You still accomplish the task. You may have more fun doing it because you're doing it with someone else, and also you're giving someone else the pleasure of being able to be of assistance and be of service. And we face that we don't have to be the ones to do every single thing by ourselves all the time, that sometimes we do need to ask for help and that we still accomplish what it is we are setting ourselves out to do. Thanks for joining me for the Live Better Series. #LiveBetter #RelationshipCoaching #ReducedtoTears https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-hrEgJNMx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Being with #Friends in #Nature Can Deepen #Relationships #March #2023 Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. I wanted to talk today about how incredibly nurturing it can be to visit with a friend or a family member whom you haven't seen in a while, or someone you see often, actually, now that I think about it. And to have that visit in nature, to be among the trees, the plants, to be outdoors, to feel comforted by the moving clouds, and to just really be together in nature. You don't have to go to a restaurant. You don't have to do something. Just be together in a space where you really can feel nurtured. And I think what happens is you generally might find that you would go deeper in your conversation. You would feel a connection not felt before, just because there aren't a lot of distractions other than the natural world's distractions, which can really be quite remarkable. So thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. The next time you go with a friend or family member, go outdoors! #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #NatureWalkTalks #DrDaleAtkins https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp-eSorrv42/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

How to #Adapt in a Positive Way #February #2023 #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #NatureWalkTalks #DrDaleAtkins #HowtoAdapt #Adaptation https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp5qptkPHEG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Believing Someone Else’s Opinion of Us When we believe someone else's view of us that makes us feel diminished, we forget the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt who said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” This does not mean that we are consciously giving our consent to feel inferior; it does mean, though, that we are particularly vulnerable to another's view of us and, consequently, we give that view credibility. Children deal with this all the time. If a teacher's attitude or response gives a child the impression that they are stupid or slow, they believe they are. And if a teacher encourages a child because they believe the child is capable, smart, clever or creative, the child begins to feel that way about him-, her-, or themself often, resulting in the belief that they can do what's expected of them. Children also deal with this in their families. When babies look into the eyes of their caregivers they can see, reflected in those eyes, whether they are valued - a source of joy or pain. More than 100 years ago, Charles Horton Cooley, a sociologist, coined the term "looking glass self" as a description of how we come to see ourselves as seen through the eyes of others. Cooley suggested that we first imagine how we look to other people. Next, we imagine the other person's judgment of us based on how we think they view us. And finally, we consider how we think of how the person views us based on their previous judgments. Basically, we come to see ourselves through the perception of others' view of us. Since a looking glass is a mirror, we base our sense of who we are by seeing our reflection in another's eyes. Other's perceptions and judgements can be the foundation for what we use to form our self-worth, our values, and our behaviors. Consider the people in our lives who serve as those mirrors. Do we still base our view of ourselves on what we interpreted their perceptions of us to be? #DrDaleAtkins #LookingGlassSelf #SelfJudgment https://www.instagram.com/p/CptGkFYvhaE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

In the #Ocean #February #2023 Well, thanks for joining me for a Nature Walk Talk today. As you can see, I'm in the ocean and I just decided that I was going to do a nature walk talk with you in the place that is my most favorite place, my happy place, and I wanted to share it with you. And I'm inviting you to breathe and breathe in the colors and breathe in the textures. Just enjoy this moment and find a time in your day when you, too, can go to your happy place. And if you can't get there physically at this moment, take a moment and see if you can go there in your mind. If you can find a photograph of yourself when you're at a place that is meaningful to you and give yourself an opportunity to be in the frame of mind where you can be relaxed and be in a place that makes you whole. Thanks for joining me for this Nature Walk Talk. #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #NatureWalkTalks #DrDaleAtkins #Breathe https://www.instagram.com/p/CpoztriOiqr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Who Do We Have Next to Us? #February #2023 Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. I'm inspired to share with you my thoughts today about who we have next to us, who we surround ourselves with, who we spend time with. And how we pick who's with us. And the inspiration, as always, is from nature. So if we look at nature, if we look at these shrubs, if we look at these trees, if we look at the ground cover, we see what lives well next to each other and what crowds out other species. So I talked in the past about invasive species, and really what I want to talk about today is how do we choose who we're going to be next to, and are we encouraging the growth of the people next to us, and are we with them, and do they encourage our growth? And just how do we thrive? At certain times in our lives, we really have the opportunity to consider who we spend our time with and whether or not these people are good influences on us and whether we're good influences on them. So I ask you to think about the next time you're in nature to look carefully at what grows well next to each other and how plants and people thrive from the influence of their neighbors. Thanks for joining me on this Nature Walk Talk. #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #LifeLessons #Plants #NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpa7J1WPA7N/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins #February #2023 #Miami Say thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. I'm so glad to be with you again. Some of you have responded, which I appreciate so much to what I like to refer to as just being in nature. Being in nature, we don't have to do anything, just be. And so I wanted to talk about that a little bit today with you, because I think that some of us avoid being still. And really being still is not doing nothing. It's allowing ourselves to connect with where we are. And I encourage you to connect with nature so that sometimes when we are still and it appears that we are doing nothing, what we're actually allowing is for ourselves to have space and to be able to look at things from a different perspective, to be able to enjoy a moment of quiet, of peace. And you may find that there isn't quiet inside when we are still. And that's one of the reasons that some of us are always so busy, to avoid that stillness. But if we really can embrace it, if we can sit or stand or just reflect while we're in nature, we will see what comes up and that will give us a direction. So I ask you to be in nature and don't have to do anything. Just be there. Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. Take care. #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #Ocean https://www.instagram.com/p/CpQsc2lv27c/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#LiveBetterSeries with #DrDaleAtkins Reduced to #Tears Thanks for joining me for the Live Better Series. I was talking with a group of moms today, and one of them talked about an experience she had, which is what I wanted to share with you. And she said, I was so overwhelmed that I was reduced to tears. And we've all heard that expression, but today I heard it a little bit differently. That's what I wanted to share with you. Why are we reduced to tears? Why aren't we moved to tears? I think that being reduced when we feel a particular emotion, whatever that emotion is, diminishes us and diminishes the emotion and the power of our emotions. We're human beings, and we have the capacity to feel so much. So when we think about how we express an emotion and sometimes when we're overwhelmed, which itself is an emotion, that we just allow ourselves to be moved by the experience that evoked the emotion and the way we expressed it. So thanks for joining me on the Live Better Series. And please just think about that. #LiveBetter #RelationshipCoaching #ReducedtoTears https://www.instagram.com/p/CpLSUI-vPcL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins #February #2023 #Egyptian #Geese Hi, thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. Well, as you can see, I'm not the only one talking today. There is a family of Egyptian geese, and as you can see, there's a little duckling or gosling who has just come into this world. And the mother and the dad are announcing that everyone should stay away. So I'm not going to get any closer. But once again, you never know what you'll find when you come and take a walk in nature. So let's just breathe in this beautiful family. And once again, when you approach animals in nature, just be very gentle and don't get too close and respect their space. Not different from how we have to deal with some people. So enjoy your day and thanks for joining me for my Nature Walk Talk. #NatureWalks #Nature #RelationshipAdvice #RelationshipCoaching #RespectForOthers #EgyptianGeese https://www.instagram.com/p/CpBAHMfPMzJ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins #February #2023 Walking the #Seashore in #Miami A walk along the seashore in Miami. Brisk wind. Rough seas. A lone sailor. Look around for signs that encourage you to do something or discourage you from doing something. The decision, the last word, is always with you. But, when you have a choice, look around, look beneath the surface, and ask yourself if your choice is sensible. #NatureWalks #Nature #MiamiSeashore #Jellyfish #Ocean #Sea #Signs https://www.instagram.com/p/Com9Sk1JM6g/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins February, 2023 #TodsPoint Here we are for another Nature Walk Talk. I'm happy to be with you again, and I'm happy to be here at Tod's Point again, as those of you who have joined me before, you know this is a particularly special place for me, and so I'm just going to ask you to join me in breathing it in this beautiful winter's day. And let's think about how we respond when we come to a place and expect it to be one way and it ends up being another way. And it can be a surprise, that's a good surprise or one that's a not so great surprise. I was concerned about coming back up north to the cold, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the weather was really quite mild. So I'm spending a bit more time outside than I had expected, which is great, and I ask you to look to nature for some gift and some surprise and enjoy your day. Thanks for joining me for the Nature Walk Talk. #NatureWalks #Nature #oldgreenwich https://www.instagram.com/p/Coh2B3HJ3da/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins January, 2023 #ChangedPlans Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. I'm really happy to be with you and just wanted to tell you what the inspiring situation was for me to discuss with you today. And that is that even when you plan and you're prepared and you have everything you need for an event, things change. They're out of your control. And that's often what happens with the weather. It's often what happens when you're going to take a hike and the trail is down or closed off. And that's what happened to me today. I was planning on taking a flight and on my way to the airport, I received a message that the flight was canceled. And so I was able to turn around and make a different plan. So I think that what's important. And for me, the first thing I wanted to do was to walk in nature. And so here I am talking about how we can adjust, how we have to be flexible and how we need to really just recognize what we have control over and what we don't have control over. And what we have control over is our attitude about things that change. So help us turn something that is totally different than what we planned totally different from what we planned into something that we can learn from an opportunity. So thanks for joining me for a Nature Walk Talk and I'll see you again. #NatureWalks #Nature https://www.instagram.com/p/CoQk17lPNB8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Understanding Our #Anger Anger is a natural human emotion. In and of itself, it can be a valuable signal but if our anger is out of proportion to the actual event, it's important to understand its negative long-term effect on your body and what has triggered it. Anger raises blood pressure, releases damaging levels of the stress hormone cortisol into the body and contributes to gastrointestinal distress. When we are angry, we have a chance to breathe, release our tense jaws, and relax our hands before making choices about how we will respond. Some people hang on to anger as if essential to their identity. "That's just who I am,” or "I have a right to my feelings.” They may blame others for their behavior. It's always someone else's fault. This is not healthy for the person with a habit of rage, and it is certainly not healthy for their relationships. The truth is that we can change how we think about our feelings. Thinking deeply about who we want to be as we engage the world can be a strong catalyst for change. If we begin the day focusing on our intention to express patience and peace, we may find that when a person cuts us off in traffic, a colleague ignores our input in a meeting, or our partner or child fail to honor an agreement we had made, we are able to take a few deep breaths, calm ourselves and respond in a constructive way. If we need to have a difficult conversation with the colleague or our partner, a positive outcome is more likely if we don't engage the person with an angry face and harsh words. One can be firm and clear without expressing hostility. Each of us can learn to train our mind to notice our patterns and habits. When we notice them, we can assess whether they serve us in a way that reflects who we want to be and how we want to live our life. We don't have to be held hostage to a particular behavioral response when we feel "triggered.” Many of these responses are learned from childhood. Research shows us that the brain is supple and that we can learn different ways of responding when we put our mind to it. With intention and practice, we can create new patterns which can replace our old habits. #angermanagement https://www.instagram.com/p/CoIFfJQJr_A/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#LiveBetterSeries with #DrDaleAtkins Your Role In #BeingThere for a #Friend Thanks for joining me for the Live Better Series. Some of us have friends who are going through loss or are adapting to loss in ways that may be difficult for us as their friends, to witness. And we question what is our role? Our role is to be there. To be there in the ways that our friends need us to be. It may be different from what we need if we were in their situation. So I ask each of you to think about what it is they need. And the only way that we can find that out is by observing and by listening and by trying to be open to where they are so they may behave in a way that is challenging for us. Recently, a friend of mine who lost a spouse immediately started dating. And it was difficult for me. But my role wasn't to question. My role was to listen and to try to help this person through the challenges of mourning and thinking about creating the next chapter of their life. And so when we are trying to live better ourselves, part of that is really questioning our beliefs, our opinions, and what it means for us to impose those on other people who may be in a very different place from where we are. But if they are friends, how do we show up for them in ways that are meaningful? Thanks for joining me for the Live Better Series. #LiveBetter #RelationshipCoaching #SupportingFriends #NonJudgment https://www.instagram.com/p/CoC2RlTLfgP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins January, 2023 #WhenTheLightsGoOut Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. Well, as you can probably detect from the light, it's the end of the day, and it's really gorgeous. Just have a look at that sky. Amazing. Just amazing. Let's take a moment and breathe it in together. I was inspired to talk with you today about change and change in light. And then I came outside and there was the light changing right before my eyes and giving me a warm feeling, which was really lovely, and I wanted to share that. What came to mind, however, was something that was a little bit more serious and a lot more filled with conflicts. And it really had to do with when we witness a friend or a family member whose light of life is going out. And so there's not much that we can do except to be with them. And it's tough. It's really hard and challenging, and sometimes we focus on that. We don't have enough time together. And I think the message is to focus on whatever time we have together and to really make each moment count. And that can be difficult, because with each moment, we're aware that it may be the last moment or getting to the last moment. And so we have to be in that moment. We have to be present. And we may cry. We may share stories of how this particular person affected us. We may not talk. We may just be holding their hand and just being with them and being present as the light in their life goes out. And then we can be reminded at some point of the light they gave us which enriched us and brightened our life. So it's a bit of a different nature walk talk tonight, and I hope that it was helpful and I hope that it was meaningful to you. So thank you for joining me for another nature walk talk. Always inspired by nature. Thank you. #NatureWalks #Nature https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn7gioXvuns/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#NatureWalkTalks with #DrDaleAtkins January, 2023 #LightenUp Thanks for joining me for another Nature Walk Talk. It's good to be together again. As you can see, I'm still near the ocean. And I was walking by this tree the other day and it was very thick and weighed down and seemed very heavy and burdened. And today it's lightened up. Someone carefully trimmed it and opened it up to the wind and to the elements and just lightened it up so it's not so burdened. And that is the inspiration from my message today. I think we need to do whatever we need to do to lighten ourselves up and to get rid of what are the dead branches or what's holding us down so that we can have a different perspective here. In fact, you can look right through. And the other day, it was so thick you couldn't see anything. You didn't know what was on the other side of this tree. So I'd ask you to do what I'm going to now do, which is to think about what needs to be either moved over, tossed away, lightened up, so that I can get a different perspective. And that can let the light in and I can let the wind come through. Whatever it is, whatever image works for you, I'd like you to try that with me. So thanks for another Nature Walk Talk experience. Bye. #NatureWalks #Nature #OceanWalk #GetRidOfTheBad #UnburdenYourself https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn2CodwJMN8/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=