Keeping Promises

From Left: Jennica, Juliana, Mikayla, Joey, Acadia, Hanna, and me after performing in the theater at the Temple of Apollo.

We make promises every day.  We promise to have a good day at school, we promise to call as soon as we get home, or we promise to actually clean our dishes as soon as we use them rather than leave them in the sink.  Whether or not we keep these promises is an entirely separate thing.

When we received our prompt for this round of blog posts, I’m not going to lie, I was a little stumped.  Understanding Logos (Speech) and Praxis (Action) and how they relate in terms of religion is one thing, but reflecting on them and their applications on my life is another.

Eventually, I figured out that I wanted to talk about everyday promises. We don’t always realize that we’re making these promises- sometimes, we don’t even realize we’ve communicated anything at all. The constant influx of communication-related cues we experience on a daily basis can go right over our heads, but in terms of promises, they can have lasting effects if they aren’t recognized.

We even make promises to ourselves.  Those promises can be really hard to keep, but doing so makes a world of a difference. I made a couple big promises to myself for this Study Away opportunity. 

1. Do something adventurous every day
2. Don’t hole out in your room- be social
3. Take time for yourself if you need it
4. Cultivate relationships based on trust and mutual interests

(From Left): Jennica, Joey, Acadia, and me doing the friend thing.

Luckily, I can say I’ve done my best to uphold these promises, and in doing so found a group of people who were cognizant of their own promises- not only their promises to themselves but their promises of compassion and trust within the class.

The praxis side of things, when it comes to promises, emerges in the action and follow-through with the promises you make.  These people have gone above and beyond what they were expected to do- they have offered a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on when the Study Away experience gets intense, and they encourage me to do the same.  They help me keep my promises to myself and others, and those are the true blessings of Study Away. 

I know that the relationships I am forming here will travel with me throughout my time at PLU (and hopefully beyond), and I know that I will take this perspective forward in my life past graduation.

Logopraxy, or Praxology

During our class time, one of the most important pieces of information we were given was that of logos and praxis. By these words, I mean the two aspects of religious ritual: words and actions. And by important, I mean they underlie not only all religious activity, but nearly everything in humanity.

Every alteration or continuation of a human begins with logos. But logos is far more complicated than just “words.” It is the capacity to comprehend distinctions and communicate them to others. The ability to reason. That’s why the names of many disciplines end in “-ology;” each is the comprehension of that topic. The ancient Greeks believed it to be the defining element of humankind, what separated us from other animals.

Now we know other animals can reason and communicate. But it remains that reasoning and communication are of paramount importance for life as we know it. Take away either, and much of religion, community, and civilization would cease to exist.

But just as important is praxis, that is, action. We think and talk forever, but if we don’t put it into practice, it will have no influence on us or the world around us. No praxis means no effect.

More than including both logos and praxis in activities, however, they must also work in conjunction. The politician may make exhortations absolute purity with the tongue of an angel. But if their actions belie moral bankruptcy, their reputation will be tainted beyond repair.

Even when something is done for the purposes of entertainment, it still requires both. I recited a poem a couple of days ago in the Acropolis of Rhodes. The words were, of course, the reason for my stepping onto the stage. But speaking the words, and doing so in an eloquent and showy manner was praxis; so were the motions I made with my hands and feet. Lacking the latter, it would have been lifeless; lacking the former, no one would have understood.

The next time you are about to do something, anything, meaningful, remember logos and praxis. Both are necessary, and both must be in conjunction. But if you can manage it, that activity will succeed where many others will not.

Practice What You Say

Getting some vitamin Sea in Rhodes

I have always heard the saying that actions speak louder than words, but does that mean that actions are more important than words? At first, I thought that actions were more important than words however it was from class the I learned that combination is needed to get the best response. The combination is called logos and praxis or speech and action. People usually either communicate with their words or with their actions. To say something is and to take action are two completely different, however, both are needed to create a good character. For example, when an individual stands in the ocean and watches the waves coming in, they could say that they will move.  However, without any action of movement, they will get hit by a wave. Another example of the importance of logos and praxis is via politicians today; they always make promises during their election but once they are elected into office everything that they promised goes out the window. In the Bronze age, an individual’s word had to be backed up with action, because while an individual’s word was important in the ancient times if their actions didn’t back it up, then they would not be trustworthy.  Throughout my time in Greece, I have had to put my trust into other people’s logos and praxis, since I do not understand the language and some of the customs. It was through my experience at Greece that I realized the importance of the combo and how it affects trust within society.  I will apply this concept of logos and praxis not only in the future when I am practicing as a nurse but as part of my daily routine. Overall it is the combination of both praxis and logos that allows the true character of an individual to be revealed. So be careful of your words for they lead to your actions, which leads to an individual’s character.