Lovely Lyrics: The Next Right Thing

Nineteen years ago, my brother and I went on an eight-day rafting trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with our parents. Each day, there would be a stop where we would hike and on one particular day, we stopped at a spot where there wasn't much of a trail to speak of. My brother was, and is, a very experienced hiker, and at that point, when he was 17, had already hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out again on several occasions.

I wasn't an experienced hiker and I was kind of scared about the climb ahead of us because it wasn't obvious to me how we were going to get to the top. I was convinced I couldn't do it. He held my hand and said, "You don't have know EVERY step you need to take; you just need to know the NEXT step you need to take. One step at a time is how you're going to do it."

Did I mention he was 17 at the time? Wise beyond his years. That advice has helped me on countless other occasions where I've been afraid because I don't have everything figured out. I think back to that day and to his words and I focus on what my next step is. And then the next. And the next. One at a time.

Just writing this takes me back to that trip and those eight days I had him to myself. There's a ten-and-a-half year age difference between us and the time we spent together then is absolutely priceless to me!

The Next Right Thing

from Frozen II

I've seen dark before

But not like this

This is cold

This is empty

This is numb

The life I knew is over

The lights are out

Hello, darkness,

I'm ready to succumb

I follow you around

I always have

But you've gone to a place I cannot find

This grief has a gravity

It pulls me down

But a tiny voice whispers in my mind

You are lost, hope is gone

But you must go on

And do the next right thing

Can there be a day beyond this night?

I don't know anymore what is true

I can't find my direction

I'm all alone

The only star that guided me was you

How to rise from the floor

When it's not you I'm rising for?

Just do the next right thing

Take a step

Step again

It is all that I can to do

The next right thing

I won't look too far ahead

It's too much for me to take

But break it down to this next breath

This next step

This next choice

Is one that I can make

So I'll walk through this night

Stumbling blindly toward the light

And do the next right thing

And with the dawn, what comes then?

When it's clear that everything

Will never be the same again

Then I'll make the choice

To hear that voice

And do the next right thing

Music and Lyrics by

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez

Obviously some of the lyrics are specific to the film, with the song being used to move the story forward, but the idea of taking things one step at a time is applicable to us all! It's so easy to get overwhelmed with our never-ending to-do lists and all of the demands on our times, but if we just worry about the next thing instead of all of the things, perhaps everything will seem more manageable! I try to keep this message in mind when I'm feeling like I have so many things to so and not enough hours in the day:

I won't look too far ahead

It's too much for me to take

But break it down to this next breath

This next step

This next choice

Is one that I can make

Side note…if you're a fan of the movie and you have Disney+, I highly recommend the six-episode series Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II. It is a behind-the-scenes look at what went into creating the movie and it's fascinating!

Happy Tails to you!