Anyone who reads this whole thing must really love me.

Okay, first of all I would like to clear something up. So, the other night as I lay not sleeping, it suddenly occurred to me that people might be taking my Blogger name the wrong way. Lovely You. For some reason, I randomly realized that people might be thinking that what I mean by that is that I am a lovely version of you, like you, only lovelier. Oh dear, d-d-d dear, dear! It was a mortifying Piglet moment because that is not what I mean at all, and I hate to think of people as thinking of me as arrogant because I absolutely abhor arrogance. It's just the worst. So please, allow me to explain (or try to at least) what I really mean by lovelyyou and thegoodinyou. It might be a little long-winded, please bear with me. I would also like to preface this by saying that I realize my writing doesn't always reflect these ideas. Sometimes I am negative. Sometimes I complain. And sometimes I just write about cheese. But, anyway, this is the theory behind the blog. You see, I tend to agree with Cooley's Looking Glass Self, you know, the sociological theory that says we see ourselves through other people's eyes and that those reflections make up our ideas about ourselves. We are a mirror for one another. So basically, I want to reflect back to you the good I see in you, you know, all the loveliness in the way you smile and laugh, the light in your eyes and the love in your heart. And also, I think the more you focus on the good in people and in everything, the more goodness comes back to you. It's a reflecting back and forth. The more I see other people as lovely, the more I see myself as lovely, too. The more people see themselves in a positive light, the more they will see others in a positive light. I really believe that. I mean, haven't you noticed that? Haven't you noticed that when you are in despair, you see despair everywhere, at every turn, in every crevice of your life? And when your heart is full of Love, have you noticed that around every corner that Love is reflected back to you? I've noticed it, too. I absolutely believe in another sociological theory which goes along with the looking glass self. (Can you tell my degree is in Sociology?) It's called the labeling theory, and basically it says people become what they are told they are. People live up to the labels they are given, like a self-fulfilling prophesy. This is very evident in the public school system. The kids who are labeled as "gifted" nine times out of ten will go on to achieve academic success. (FYI: I'm that tenth kid.) The kids who are labeled at-risk or put in behavior adjustment classes will most likely continue to have behavior problems. Those labels become a part of one's self-identity, which is one of the many reasons negative stereotypes are so very dangerous. So, the theory applied here goes like this: if you tell people they are good, maybe they will be good. Back in college, I spent a lot of time studying and worrying about all the troubles in the world. I watched documentaries and read books about corporate greed and poverty and war. I focused too much on the not-so-good-in-you and ended up feeling not-so-good about myself and well, about everything. I felt helpless and hopeless about all the sorrow and grief and pain and evil in the world. It was just too much for my little co-ed heart. I'm quite sensitive you know. I ended up kind of hating humanity in a way for mucking everything up and hating myself for not knowing what to do about any of it. I think this time in my life is about being aware of all the goodness in the world. So, thegoodinyou is about seeking out the good and praising it. It's not about denying the problems of the world, just changing the focus from what is wrong with the world to what is right with it. It's about me and maybe you, too, (if you want) building up a hope and a love that is so strong that maybe some day I/we will have the courage to look hatred in its human face and love it, (the face, not the hate) instead of hating it back. If I've learned anything in my itsy bitsy life it is this: 1.) There is a lot of hate in this world. 2.) The way to fight hate is not with more hate. 3.)There is a lot of love in this world. 4.) The way to fight hate is with love.

Now that we've cleared that up, I'd like to tell you about some lovely people Jason and I met yesterday.

We went to a nearby garden to do some reading. I ended up reading about two pages because I'd much rather watch real people than read about made-up ones. (Most of the time anyway.) Don't get me wrong, I love me some reading! But even more than that, I love me some people-watching! I was watching some teenage boys practice their footy kicking skills. Then, a man came up to them and started talking with them and playing ball with them. At some point, the man noticed me watching them and shortly after came over to say hello. His name is Teddy:

He's from Ethiopia and happens to be one of the more charming people I've met in my day. His english is not so hot, so I didn't pick up everything he said, but have you noticed that sometimes you don't need to know what people are saying to know what they are saying? This was one of those times. When he met Jason, he immediately started referring to him as The Professor. I'm not really sure why. Maybe because he was reading a book or maybe because that beard of his makes him look professorly or something. I don't know. I just know I liked it. Anyway, he sat down with us and we had a nice talk. Actually, he talked. We listened. (We prefer it that way.) Teddy loves life. He is very positive. He says, "Everything go together." He was very discouraged when some people were getting in trouble near us by the Police for drinking and carousing in the gardens. He says people should be more respectful. "You have to be quality, man." He told us about the things he loves, of which there are many. Teddy loves James Bond. "Jimmy! I love Jimmy!" Teddy loves the Queen of England, the green grass, beautiful people, soccer, traveling, the sky, movement, the trees, communication...I could go on. He could go on and on and on. (He's a talker.) And before he left us to get to work, he said: "Peoples mind is honey. Peoples mind is diamond." Have you ever heard anything more lovely? I immediately got out my moleskin and wrote that one down. GOLDEN, I tell you, golden. I love Teddy. After he left, we noticed that the pubescent boys who were playing footy were suddenly sitting right beside us. (Teddy brings people together.) So, we ended up talking and playing with them. Together, the four of us climbed the Magnolia tree seen here behind The Professor:

One of the boys climbed to the very top just to get me this:

one of the last flowers in the tree. Isn't it GORGEOUS?! And I wish you could smell it! And isn't that just the sweetest thing that he did that for me? They were sweet boys, and although they call each other fuckhead and dickweed and other such names, I could tell they really love each other.

Anyway, it was a nice day and I wanted to tell you about it. I hope you're having a nice day, too.