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Perspective: Doing The Next Right Thing

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In current uncertain times, I have found wisdom in a surprising place -- the movie Frozen II. In it, Anna says that when you’re up against a challenge and aren’t sure what to do, “do the next right thing.” An important precursor to this is advice from the 1989 Spike Lee drama, to always do the right thing.

I’m a person who likes to know what’s coming. Confession: I sometimes skip ahead when reading and sneak a peek at upcoming chapters. We can’t do that in real life, good thing.

Life is made up of moments. Each day has new challenges and opportunities. In recent years I’ve learned the practice of mindfulness, and it has been a game changer. These days more than ever, I feel the pressure to be productive. I’ve found that in order to stop spinning my wheels, it helps to choose to come back to the moment, take some deep breaths, remember what’s important, and embrace the present.

Author Brené Brown talks about “day 2” which is what she calls “the messy middle” -- the middle stage of anything. Day 2 is where we’re in the dark and don’t know what’s coming next. She says it’s hard, but it’s where the work and the magic happen. We can’t skip the middle.

So, whether it’s the fight for social justice, trying to keep ourselves healthy, our work, relationships, the choices we’re faced with as we navigate daily life -- this is a reminder to do the next right thing.

Sometimes we don’t know what that is, but we can break it down, step by step, day by day.

In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “the time is always right to do what is right.”

I’m Jodi Ritter, and this is my perspective.

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