Although it looks like we have gone quickly from winter to summer here, spring is a season I really don't like to see us miss. We have a lot of associations to spring but basically spring is generally considered as in mythology, a time of renewal. A young man's fancy, so they say, turns to love while mothers and wives start spring cleaning. I would like to suggest that we take this time to look at self-renewal. I think our goals should be to achieve a state of eudemonia. Eudemonia is defined as a state of happiness and well-being. Interestingly enough, in Aristotelian philosophy, it goes further to say that we are "to achieve this state of happiness and a life of activity governed by reason." What a wonderful way to help organize spring self-cleaning.

So let us begin first with the cleaning out. It's time to throw away the winter couch potato; it's time to remove the anger and irritation that build up over long, gray, and in this case, wet winters here in Davis. It is time to examine attitudes and beliefs that are negative, either toward ourselves, toward others, our environment, etc.

Now before we go into those things we wish to renew, I am willing to have everybody take a little bit of time for spring fever. Spring fever is that wonderful, indolent feeling that comes to you in the first sort of warm, sunny, heavenly scented, breezy days that introduce Spring. Generally, we experience them here in February; this year it was a day or two in May. It is an excellent state in which we truly stop and smell the flowers. Having done this, it is then time to begin your own self-renewal.

This will mean different things to different people, but let me mention a few things I think are important to all of us. First, self-renewal means doing things that demonstrate respect, care and the nurturing of yourself.

Self-renewal includes everything from a healthy diet, regular exercise and spending more time with people you enjoy. It also, importantly, means finding the humor in things.

It means opening new areas of learning, growth, and developing a positive view of life. I do not mean the latter as Pollyannaish but rather that, as I've mentioned before, it means identifying those things for which you are grateful. Increasingly research shows that looking at the positive aspects in your life, despite the fact that you may have great pain in other parts of your life, begets well-being.

How you go about this will be up to you. All of us are individuals, however, you're free to come in and talk to one of our therapists about some techniques that will help you reframe so that problems are defined in ways that are realistic. We will also remind you of practical things you can do both at work and at home that help to do this.

Some examples include: take your breaks and get outside, take a walk, seek out a friend, be good to someone else, then see how good you feel yourself.

I remember when I was in college, the first beautiful day, a group of us would skip school and head out for an island in the Detroit River where we would sit and catch the first rays of the spring sun as well as engage in other self-indulgent activities. When is the last time you played hooky, packed a picnic lunch and headed for a meadow or a mountain top?

As usual, if you'd like to talk with us, call 752-2727 or stop in and see one of our counselors at the Academic and Staff Assistance Program.

Sally Harvey is the director of the Academic and Staff Assistance Program. For more information, visit www.hr.ucdavis.edu/ASAP.