In July, my wife Lili and I took a 13-day trip to Ecuador with Gate 1 Travel. We went there for the adventure, and we were not disappointed. From the Galapagos Islands to the Andes Mountains to the Amazon forest: we were awed every single day. But more than exciting adventures, the trip gave us valuable life lessons. One of them came early in our trip.
At 9 AM on our very first morning, our tour manager, Javier Santafe, gathered us at the Hilton Colón in Guayaquil for orientation. After introductions, he handed out our tour packets (name tags, Whisper audio units, etc.) and explained the plan for the day.
Excited and anxious about the adventure, some of us immediately peppered him with questions about what lay ahead:
“What can we bring to the Galápagos?”
“How about the Amazon? Can we take all our luggage on the boat?”
With the wise smile of a guide with 17 years of experience, Javier replied, “Let’s do it day by day, okay?”
That simple mantra became his refrain throughout the trip. And it turned out to be a very wise advice indeed: not only did we often forget what he had told us just two hours before 😀, but it also kept us from being overwhelmed by information or worried about the logistics of the days ahead.
The phrase came up again on Day 10 when we visited the Nueva Providencia Interpretation Center to learn from local Kichwa women about their daily life in the Amazon (top picture). Javier and Alex, our local guide, explained that despite the hard work—collecting food daily from the farm (often with a child on their back), defending themselves with a machete from snakes and insects—life expectancy there is 80 years for men and 85 for women. Seeing our surprise, Javier told us, “Yes, their life is hard, but unlike us city people, they live day by day. They don’t worry about what will happen months or years from now.”
Since coming home, I’ve found myself repeating that same mantra many times. I said it to Lili as she faced medical treatment complexity; to my sister, Rina, as she grieved the sudden loss of her husband; and to other friends as they went through hard times at work and at home. I said it to myself, too, as I battled the uncertainties in my work caused by the erratic tariff policy from the government.
“Let’s take it one day at a time.”
This wisdom isn’t new, of course. Two thousand years ago, Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:34: “Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” Dale Carnegie echoed it in 1944 in his classic How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, urging readers to live in “day-tight compartments” – separating the past and the future from today.
But just because I know the theory doesn’t mean I always remember to practice it. I need a constant reminder. Hence, I was glad to find an article from Father Jacob Dankasa. In The Texas Catholic, he wrote movingly about surrendering our tomorrow:
“There is a quiet strength in surrender,” he wrote, “one that doesn’t always feel heroic, yet often marks the beginning of our most transformative spiritual journeys.”
When we’ve done all we can, and the outcome still falls short of our hopes, it’s time to say, “God, I have done my part … now lead me where You want me to go.”
“By surrendering, we don’t lose — we find,” Fr. Dankasa added. “We find peace. We find purpose. And most of all, we find that we were never alone.”
What an assuring thought and a beautiful reminder to take life day by day. ❤️
Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.
Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher, 1795-1881.
References
- Carnegie, D. (1984). How to stop worrying and start living (revised ed.). Pocket Books.
- Dankasa, Fr. J. (2025, July 22). Father Dankasa: When letting go becomes the way forward. Texas Catholic.
- Gate 1 Travel 13 Day Galapagos, Ecuador, Andes & Amazon tour.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos are © Rubianto Satrio, July 2025.
REFLECTIONS ON LIFE, WORK, AND FAITH IN THE 21ST-CENTURY AMERICA 