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Growing smaller may create great advantages

Francisco Miraval

I was recently surfing Internet when I came across a story about tiny libraries created by people whose only goal is to promote the love for reading and the exchange of books all over the world.

All of these “libraries” are no more than some kind of decorated box to preserve the books. They receive no government subsidies or public money. Each “librarian” creates his or her own tiny library (usually, a glorified mail box) and puts it at a place with easy access for readers, including children. And people read the books. It is that easy.

The article said there are cities where public employees, from garbage truck drivers to municipal workers, frequently use the tiny libraries, taking and replacing books on a weekly basis.

A few months ago, I interviewed the owner of a convenience store in Provo, Utah, who created a tiny library inside his store so children in his neighborhood would have access to good books. When a child returns the book, he or she can choose to receive a candy or another book. More than 90 percent of the children choose another book, the owner told me.

And if there are tiny libraries, there should be also micro-nations. In fact, there are many micro-nations, not recognized as sovereign state by any international body. Regardless, these micro-nations want to bring to our attention very real problems, from complex international relations to abuse of natural resources to incompetence among public officials.

Some micro-nations are or pretend to be very old, such as a city in Wales and another one in Italy that say were established in the Middle Ages. Other micro-nations are very recent, including the Russian Empire, established in 2011 at a atoll of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Tiny libraries seem to be useful and micro-nations are amusing. Both of them exemplified what

Shane Claiborne, in his book The Irresistible Revolution, calls the principle of “growing smaller” to achieve a bigger impact in our constant struggle to help others and to create a more just and humane society.

Claiborne, who describes himself as an “ordinary radical,” says that at times organizations grow so big that, because of that, they can no longer help or implement changes.

On the other hand, some tiny organizations, precisely because of their small size, can create micro-changes, producing a deeper and long-lasting impact, something larger organizations (that usually receive all the publicity) cannot accomplish.

I am not sure if founding a micro-nation is a good idea. Establishing a tiny library may be fun and, of course, it will help the community. But there are many other micro-projects that can be done without money, but with passion, creativity, and effectiveness.

In ancient times, it was said that a micro-action like sharing a glass of water with a thirsty person could be of help for the whole community, with lasting positive effects. Perhaps it is time to take another look to ancient wisdom to transfer it to our 21st century. 

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