Thursday night, I showed my freshly made documentary to my housemates and about halfway through the film; my roommate turns to me and says, “This looks like a lot of fun!”
And I thought to myself, “yeah, it really was.” The work that our Haiti class did in Les Cayes this semester really was fun.
Then I wondered, where did this idea come from that praxis wasn’t supposed to be fun? If anything, fun-ness is one of the key elements of praxis.
When we do praxis, we are exploring the roots of our humanity.
While hugging an orphaned child outside the city of Les Cayes, I am also getting in touch with “whatever it is” that ties us all into the human race. Sharing ones humanity with another is the same as exploring the core elements of one’s own existence.
Being a human; sharing my humanity with others is one of the simplest things I can do. And it makes little difference to whom I share my humanity with, that is beside the point.
When I think about the person who says “That looks like fun!”, I know that the only true response is to give them some food, a hug, or a back rub because you don’t need to go to Haiti to share something as simple as yourself. People are everywhere, there are all these opportunities to make deep connections with those around us except we seem to ignore them the majority of the time.
So, why does that idea of “that looks like fun!” even come up? Shouldn’t the fact that we are all people be more present in our day to day lives? It’s almost as if the individual is not appreciated to their fullest in a society.
We live in such a competitive world that we often forget that the man handing you his resume has much more depth than a couple of letters on a sheet of paper, or that the woman on the street corner is a lot more than a lump of flesh.
Having a culture that does not esteem human beings as valuable members of society corrupts it at its roots. If we aren’t fully aware of our collective humanities, then how are we to act justly?
This aspect of our existences, if it really is true, cannot be removed from ourselves. We can tear ourselves far from the truth and focus on the resume or the hooker but can always go back to the fact that each person shares this common thread in themselves. We can't separate this aspect of ourselves from ourselves no matter what.
Having that week in Haiti was very great, not only because we were able to do something substantial in the lives of many, but it helped cultivate the praxis spirit within all of us. Once we begin to act, it must continue. When a seed first sprouts out of the ground, it doesn’t wither and die; it grows into a bigger tree! We don’t leave this tree growing in Haiti either, because it is within ourselves. Likewise, solidarity does not exist outside people, but within them!
I learned that there really isn’t anything I can do except act generously. There isn’t anything substantial about a person except for their humanity. Now that I know this, I find it difficult to see people as anything but beings who can give and receive love. This world can be a wonderful place, and the ability to bring that world about lies within us. It is our blood. The power of praxis is truly amazing.
I feel as if it is very important that we all become aware of this. But explaining it only goes so far, I can talk about humanity until I am blue in the face, because it doesn’t truly exist in words. To “be human” with another I must share a meal, or give a hug, connect with another person in the most substantial way I possibly can. It is so strange, it becomes clearer and clearer to me that the best way to share this truth is to actually share.
Praxis is such a weird thing. It integrates critical analysis with public action. These two things amplify and perpetuate each other. Domtila said in class "You can first reflect and then act, or you can act and then reflect." The point of my documentary was to reveal that praxis cultivates deep understanding because it contains the depth of personal involvement that other academic programs lack.
I have found that ever since I got back from Haiti, I have become more and more involved with the praxis project. I don't know if this is an aspect of praxis, or of myself but the more I do praxis, the more I do it. "Once you pop, you just can't stop."
~matt
