Magpie finds Harmony cleaning up their “studio.” “Master, I have a question.”

They turn and gesture to a chair. “Of course. Would you like to sit down?”

Both take a seat.

“Yesterday you said my watercolor was too busy,” he begins.

“True. The energy was almost frantic. The eye didn’t know where to rest. Do you want the viewer to focus on the bird? The flower? The boat?”

“Is this a Zen thing?”

They smile. “Mostly it’s an art thing. But I think the principle applies to Zen, as well.”

Magpie considers a half-finished oil on an easel by the window. “Master?” he asks. “Where should the eye go when I want people to look inward?”