Small Is Beautiful

Staying small and intimate knowledge

Small. It is a word that brings a sense of dread to many and disappointment to even more, for, who wants to remain small nowadays? A Business’ worth is measured by its growth; families desire to upsize; farmers want to grow big crops and have big yields; shops aim to open more stores, and churches long to outgrow their buildings.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the desire to grow, it is a natural desire that often has noble ends in view (growing God’s Kingdom, employing more people, feeding the world…). But problems start to arise when we try to transcend natural limits and when we neglect or dismiss what is small.

Small can be beautiful. Our God-given limits are designed for our good: they keep us grounded, humble, and allow us to confine ourselves to our roots and core responsibilities – the things we have been made for. Staying small helps us to notice the good, the beautiful, and the important all around us that the frantic-paced, ever-growing bigger life is apt to miss or neglect. Staying small can enable us to grow in what is truly valuable. Small is beautiful.

Over a series of essays, I want to explore why this is so. We need more small and limited things if we are to flourish, and this will mean more of us need to commit to remaining small. The result should be more small businesses, small farms, and small churches. The economic growth may not be spectacular, and the numerical growth may be indiscernible, but the social growth, the aesthetic growth, and the growth in virtue will more than compensate.

So, to begin the series, I shall explore how smallness allows us to know people, creatures, and things deeper, more intimately, and more fully.

Intimate knowledge

In his book Habits of the High Tech Heart, Quentin Schultze notes that modern-day society feigns intimacy by simply observing rather than participating¹. We are surrounded by and saturated with second-hand (observed) knowledge through our use of technology (most notedly the internet and social media). Being surrounded by such knowledge is not necessarily an issue. However, we uncritically consume such knowledge and are addicted to it. This creates a ubiquitous phenomenon of ““cold intelligence” - a kind of knowing disengaged from the deeper drama of life”². Schultze goes on to state “knowing about is merely the accumulation of mediated information, whereas knowledge of includes intimate understanding, seasoned judgement, and active participation.”³ This relates just as much to people as it does to non-human life and non-living things.

Intimate knowledge in contrast to second-hand knowledge is first-hand knowledge of someone (or something), including characteristics and flaws, unique situations and histories, and hopes and dreams. Knowing in this manner enables deep relationships that are conducive to mutual flourishing to form, and also allows for participation in the lives and futures of others. Moreso, it promotes an obligation to act in a loving, affectionate manner: for those whom we intimately know we are much more inclined to feel affection for, and thus treat them with the loving care and attention they deserve - leading to their flourishing.