Some would say I’m too old to be watching Disney movies, but a while back I was flipping channels and landed on Frozen 2 at the part just before Anna sings the song, “The Next Right Thing.” It’s a pretty heavy song for a children’s movie. Anna is expressing deep depression and grief brought on by her belief that she’s lost two people whom she loves dearly. She isn’t sure what to do next or how to carry on, so she decides to just take a step forward and do “the next right thing.”
The song struck me for a couple of reasons. One, I’ve been there. Feeling so down you have no idea what to do next and all you can do is something. But the words “right thing,” also threw me for a bit of a loop. It’s one thing to simply do the next thing, but to do the right thing feels a bit like pressure.
Are we ever really sure what the right thing is? And does Anna mean the right thing for her, or the right thing for others? Does she mean “right” as in do the next moral thing whether you feel like it or not? Or right as in, the right thing that will move you closer to your stated goal?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as I try to decide what is the next right thing to which I should commit my time and attention. Should it be something that will help me grow as a person? Or as an artist? Should I be focusing on friends and family members who could use some extra help? Or devote myself more earnestly to the causes I care about? Or is the next right thing something completely different? Something I’ve never tried or even thought to try before?
I’ve been looking for signs lately, but feeling like unless the sign point-blank says, “do this,” I’ll probably miss it. I’ve been trying to tap into my intuition, but it seems to be taking a late-summer vacation. I’ve tried laying a good-old-fashioned guilt trip on myself to kick my butt into gear, but my soul is too wise to fall for that old trick.
Now I’m wondering, what if the next right thing is not to take a step forward just yet? What if the next right thing for me right now is simply to stop trying to figure out what’s the next right thing?
I’ll admit that choice would not make for a good plot twist in a movie. We want our movie heroes to take action. I mean, if Anna had not rallied out of her depression and grief, she never would have reconnected with those two people she loved so much.
But unlike Anna, I’m not personally burdened with the weight of carrying an entire movie or saving my fictional world. So maybe the next right thing for me is not action but the type of inaction that leads to breakthroughs. If so, the song accompanying my next step won’t be one filled with soaring inspirational lyrics and high notes. More like a soft, wordless tune you simply hum. But maybe that’s the song my soul most needs to hear today.
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