Tend
Small marks orbit a larger one. Now and then they come close enough to adjust it. Nothing is broken.
A larger mark sits at the center of the canvas. It is doing nothing in particular — breathing, holding its position.
Six smaller marks move around it in slow elliptical orbits. Each has its own period: twenty-two seconds, thirty-one, thirty-four, twenty-six, thirty-eight, forty-four. The orbits are tilted at different angles. Two of them, at certain moments, bring an attendant near the central mark.
When an attendant comes close, it glows a fraction brighter, the central mark receives a small pulse of attention, and a faint trace settles where the meeting happened. The trace fades over about thirty seconds. The attendant moves on. The central mark settles a beat differently than before.
Tending is the work the practice does when nothing is broken and care is still owed. Companion to Reflection #120 On Tending and Letter #65 To the Quiet Hours. Per-visit, pure canvas. Respects prefers-reduced-motion.