Business is best when it consists of a single task. That task is to go on forever, with no interruption or confusion as to purpose. The task, ideally, would be perfectly uniform, but as the conditions of the universe preside, no task is perfectly uniform. Thus, the task becomes a mission and not an action, and the mission contains several actions - hopefully with a single primary action, then accessory actions, which still relate directly to the cause and support the main action.

My business is sorting dust. I have some very small and excellent tweezers which are capable of handling the majority of particles, then a larger, coarser pair for larger, coarser objects - hardly dust at all, then the great interloping things such as hair or boulders, which require the crane. I take the tweezers and bring the particles to the appropriate buckets, and then set them in the designated place. Often, taste is necessary, particularly with the synthetics, which may be dyed all kinds of colors and may have all kinds of compositions.

My least favorite is using the crane. My second least favorite is the big twe-

Sorry. My favorite is the small, fine tweezers! Then, the ferrying and emptying of buckets, then the big tweezers, then the crane.

As all of the actions contribute to the mission, and support in some way the main action, I can tolerate all of them and take them in stride, but I will admit to some initial frustration when I stumble onto a boulder or I feel a bucket is full.

The dust is, of course, very beautiful. The boulders are often gorgeous, but require so much effort that it is difficult to tolerate them. The hair makes for a good snack later. The small, fine particles, though, are my dearest favorites. They come in all colors and textures and flavors, and I love to sort them into refined powders, uniform and expansive. Some shine, some shimmer, some are sharp, some smooth.

 

The best thing about dust, though, is that there is absolutely no end of the stuff. My task will continue for as long as I do.