Lesser shades of melancholy

Thurloe Place, Kensington, London

I heard the word melancholy today and I can't get it out of my head.  I know it means being sad but I had to look it up to know what it really meant to others.  "Sadness or depression of the spirits", somewhere in the net said.  Sadness i can take but depression of the spirit... man, how can one's spirit be
depressed?  

Palace of Westminster

Melancholy.  It reminded me of the night I was walking the streets of London, trying to capture the beauty of the place.  You see, London is  a completely different creature at night.  It can be glamorous and smile with you the first minute then bite you with sadness the next.  But it's a pleasurable kind of sadness, really.  Like watching a sad movie that makes you cry and in the end, you smile knowing you cried.

The Big Ben

This particular night was gloomy, dreary and cheerless and London took a big bite out of me.  "You got to be kidding me!"  I was walking the cobbled streets of London clouded by dark red skies.  And then it hit me, that sadness, melancholy thing.  I was looking forward to this perfect moment and it turns out disappointingly imperfect.  

The Tower Bridge

The Big Ben on Westminster Bridge

I was not going to let my night end up the way it started, dark, gloomy and sad.  Positively confident,  draining half of my battery's juice, trying hard not to shed tears, OK... OK... after staying a long number of hours,  bright blue skies appeared.  I found myself  smiling unconciously...  that 'knowing that I cried' smile!

Palace of Westminster and the Ben

You see, perseverance pays you back big time!  

I walked my way back, the same cobbled road from where I came.  (I actually took the cab back...)  Feeling none the worse... with a big smile on my face and big black bags under my eyes!  

But hey, what the heck, this is what I came here for, right?  The opportunity to take in and capture the beauty of a night in London and learn about lesser shades of melancholy.