The title of this blog, Living Small (because small is beautiful), is inspired by the book Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered by British economist E.F. Schumacher. The book consists of a collection of essays written by Schumacher dealing with the ideals of morality, environmentalism, simple living, sustainable development and design, human rights, self-awareness, the beauty of art, and what Shumacher refers to as Buddhist Economy.
“Buddhist economics must be very different from the economics of modern materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilisation not in a multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. Character, at the same time, is formed primarily by a man’s work. And work, properly conducted in conditions of human dignity and freedom, blesses those who do it and equally their products.” - Small is Beautiful
Schumacher believed that each individual is responsible for the following three tasks:
- Learn from society and tradition
- Interiorize this knowledge, learn to think for yourself, and become self directed
- Grow beyond the narrow concerns of the ego
“The way in which we experience and interpret the world obviously depends very much indeed on the kind of ideas that fill our minds. If they are mainly small, weak, superficial, and incoherent, life will appear insipid, uninteresting, petty, and chaotic.” - Small is Beautiful
The idea behind “Small is beautiful” is in direct contrast to the idea that “bigger is better”. Bigger is not better, in fact bigger is usually destructive. As humans, we need to get back to the basics. We need to recognize each other as individuals, and we need to accept each other’s differences as endearing qualities. We need to stop killing the planet, and start living in harmony with it. We need to preserve our environment. We need to save our wildlife. We need to start thinking outside of the box. We can enrich our lives by doing all of these things. According to Schumacher, “Wisdom demands a new orientation of science and technology towards the organic, the gentle, the non-violent, the elegant and beautiful.” And I agree.
This blog is basically the catch-all for my passions and my thoughts. The majority of my posts will fall into one of several categories; Design/Art, Environmentalism, and Vegetarian Food. I also firmly believe in standing up for what is right, and what I believe in, and therefore I find it important to speak out. My beliefs closely align with the ideas found in Small is Beautiful, which is why I chose this title. I did not want my personal beliefs to be the main focus of this blog, but I do feel that it is important to make my voice heard. So I have also dedicated a section of this blog to my “Weekly Rants”. These may be political in nature, or I may just be commenting on a TV show, book, or news article.
Albert Einstein once stated that ”the world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it”. I will do my best to do something about the evil in the world. I will do my best to protect the beauty in this world so that our children, and their children, will be able to enjoy it. And that is why I strive to live small. Because Small is Beautiful.
