I had dozens of thoughts earlier tonight, but no pen or keyboard to relieve myself of them.
The one I did retain involved memory. Thank you to memory, for reminding myself of it. I went to a shit movie. (I am not going to tell anyone the name of it so you can suffer the near two hours of pain I did.) After leaving, I decided to walk toward the bridge near Embankment. The view facing west is incredible. You have The London Eye to your left, and Westminster Abbey and Big Ben to your right. It was a photographic moment. The full moon poured light over the river, and the clouds were scattered ever so perfectly. I did not have a camera, so hopefully this illusion I am building is filling your mind with wonderment.
As I stood there staring into this ideal cityscape, I started to almost miss it. I was recognizing, suddenly, that I will have to leave it soon. And a thought came to me. Do I want this view to remind me of a special time in my life, or do I make a life here, and make nights like this just another average passing.
The thought. I don't think so. How depressing would it to be to not value this? To not be enchanted by this sight? New York's skyline still takes my breath away. I have yet to think of it as part of my life. A place where I just happen to live. When the Manhattan skyline catches the light right, it stops me in my tracks.
And maybe this city would too. Every place in the world can look beautiful, even for a split second. But London seems to be a dream that I live in at the moment. At some point I need to wake up, get going, move forward. Right now I am just wandering in a fantasy.
This moment then lead me to think about romance, and what it has meant to me in the past. I sat there, looking into the night, and I felt embraced by happiness and calm. I didn't need to have a person with me to feel complete, and.. well, make it "romantic." That's when it hit me. Romance doesn't have to involve someone else. It is a uniform belief in the world that romance involves long walks on the beach, and candle light dinners, and rainy kisses. These cliches are obviously works of fiction, but the idea remains. Romance has always involved two people. That's bullshit though. Completely. The following are four different definitions of romance:

-love affair: a relationship between two lovers
-love story: a story dealing with love
-an exciting and mysterious quality
-the group of languages derived from Latin

The fourth is unnecessary, but I felt it should be included nonetheless. Romance, from my perspective, is more of an idea. And a feeling. Its a moment, where you get lost in fantasy and beauty. You feel comforted by it, and it makes you feel sublimely happy. I felt romance during this moment on the bridge. I didn't need anything other than myself and the magic.

Though... in retrospect, it could have also been the whiskey.