“Just do the next right thing,” Anna sobs as she pulls herself up rock by rock towards the entrance of the cave she’s stuck in. Watching Frozen II on the big screen, I was too enthralled by her crisis to think about how her song related to me. But later, when I was re-listening to the song with my kids, the power of that message hit me. I choked up a bit as I watched the bouncing ball bop atop the words on the sing-along YouTube video.

I too have sat on the floor and cried “I don’t know what to do.” I too have stared miserably in the distance, incapacitated by the seeming lack of a path forward.

It’s happened when bedtime has dragged on for hours with no end in sight. When I don’t know how to react to my children’s behavior with anything other than anger and sadness. When I feel helpless in the face of their struggles. When I feel that everything I do to make the world a better place isn’t enough and can never be enough. When the world is burning – metaphorically and in some places, literally. When the big picture is just too big to handle, when all of the effects of my actions spiral off further than I can possibly see.

It’s been when it seems like all of the choices are hopeless.

But just as Anna’s song helps her move forward, I find just enough there for me to grasp on to as well. I get overwhelmed by the “too much” of life. But just picking just the next right thing and doing it? I might be able to handle that.

One of my favorite quotes about writing is from E.L. Doctrow: “Writing is like driving at night in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

Life is often like that as well. It’s not a story we know from start to finish, but a series of moments we create together. Parenting and activism alike are built on relationships. The best actions in foster mutual respect, support, and a desire to help each other. Sometimes all we can deal with is what’s in front of us at that very moment, needing to trust that others will do the same.

The next right thing may be just one step forward, just one kind action, just one “I love you.” It’s not enough in the end, but it’s enough to get you moving. If you never get moving, you can never grow. And growing up – as a parent, as a child, as a society – is what it’s all about.

So what’s your next right thing?

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