№ 488. The Art of Small Steps

Lord, teach me the art of small steps

I am not asking for miracles or visions but strength to get through the day. Give me the wit to understand at the right moment who and what really matter to me. Help me to choose how I portion out my time.

Give me the sense of what is essential and what comes second. I ask for strength, self-discipline and moderation so that I don’t get swept up in life but can order my day wisely.

Help me to face up to the immediate as best I can and to recognize the present hour as the most important. Let me recognize that life is accompanied by difficulties and setbacks, which are chances to grow and mature.

Make of me a man capable of joining those who have gone below. Give me not what I want but what I need. Teach me the art of small steps.

--- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

№ 66. The Art of Divination in Bangaan: Orpi

Every February, when green seedlings of mountain rice have already sprouted from the nursery, the Ifugao farmers of Bangaan, Banaue in Northern Philippines begin the long ritual of transplanting them to the terraces. Water, a plentiful resource from the slopes of the mountain, flow through a network of irrigation channels carved on the sides of the terraces. Fresh water makes the fertile soil yield to the manual labor of sowing the tender roots of the grass.


On this occasion, the village, through their priest, the Mumbaki, and the elders, gathers to perform a communal ceremony of song, dance, sacrifice, prayer and hepatomancy. Hepatomancy is a form of divination also practiced by the Babylonians where the liver, the "source of blood" and the "base of life", is examined to discover the divine will. The priest is specially trained to interpret the "signs" of the liver.(1)