7.4 Billion

A bit of a cheat for my Artist's Date this week as I left it to the last minute and struggling to think of something went up Arthur's Seat again. So it probably doesn't really count. But, then again, without it being the Artist's Date I wouldn't have done it, and having found the route the last time I was free to pay more attention to other things. Including sitting down at the top to look out across the city and take a few pictures. This young woman sat down in front of me, having asked if she wasn't spoiling my picture. Was it sneaky to include her in a snap, adding context to the view? She got up to go and asked if there was an easier way down, having slightly scrambled her way up in less than ideal footwear - her boots were more fashion than mountaineering. I pointed her to the main path round the back, asking if it would take her in the right direction. She said it would be fine - anything that took her down would be okay and she could then find her way to her hostel on Princes Street. She sounded North American and my first thought was that it was an odd time of year to visit. But then I remembered it was Friday afternoon, so perhaps it was a weekend trip and she was a student studying somewhere in the UK, up to visit for a couple of days. Walking back down shortly afterwards, and seeing her further down the slope it made me think of the ways our lives interconnect with other people on the planet. Sometimes for the briefest of interactions. I assume we will never meet again but for those few sentences on top of Arthur's Seat our two lifelines briefly met. A theme that came up in the episode of The Brain that L and I caught up with in the evening, and then again at the Artist's Way check-in on Saturday [this is a back-blip on Sunday evening]. So maybe it wasn't a bad Artist's Date after all.