In honor of Valentine's day and recent observations, I have some musings on romanticism.
Every romantic I have known has been neurotic and temperamental; I am one of them. Driven by moods and caprice, I act on impulses.
But the existence of romanticism is so ideological; in people, its uppermost and best form doesn't survive for long periods. While solid and steel in the fleeting second of its embodiment, romanticism wholly lacks potential for sustainability. I think that's tragic.
I once created the most thoughtful and cute good luck present for a boy I was talking to for a fast, brilliant two weeks in high school. He texted me (yeah I used to have texting.....)
Thanks, that really meant a lot, etc. But I wasn't really satisfied with that. Romance wants follow up that holds to lofty standards. It almost longs for contentment and complacency alongside improvement- sounds so paradoxical. But ideally, the improvement would just naturally occur, stemming from intensely invested interest rather than dissatisfaction or a drive for change. There would be consistent action in the perfect romance, but none of it would be dramatic or deviant as far as direction of feeling. It would all be streamlined, targeted, reaching and perfect. But these are just wishes; yes, in longing for that elusive consistency/improvement combo, us romantics yearn for another world in which to live. Not a utopian community, necessarily, but rather a
world, where emotions are governed by vastly different rules.
When I'm romantic, I act on whims and suddenly I have done something strong, something irrevocable, but something true. More than anything else, the actions of hopeless romantics are true. They are emotions turned outward, made thorough. They are raw expression, never premeditated, but rather simple inspiration resulting in action rather than thought.
But inspiration is not compatible with familiarity or systematics.
In the romantic's perfect, alternate world, the rules are different. We are always inspired, always in the mood to love and do lovely things, and our impulses are always appreciated by another romantic. Neither time nor place ever restrain us from realizing our visions. In pure romanticism, strength of feeling overrides the accompanying inconveniences and complexities that weigh down intention. And there is born a world where romance keeps progressing unencumbered, survives and prevails, riding into and through fleeting impulse, and then carrying on, sort of flying around like gusts of wind that move in whirlwinds and that keep circling the globe, almost instead of rotation or evolutions. Just love making the world go 'round. Haha. I liked that there. A dreamer can dream.
P.S. The picture is just Norway.....maybe I should just shut up about this and move?
