Keep your hands on the wheel

Reader question:

There is a Willie Nelson song titled Hands on the Wheel. What does it mean, "hands on the wheel"?

My comments:

From the web, I've got the lyrics to the song:

At a time when the world seems to be spinning hopelessly out of control,

There's deceivers and believers and old in-betweeners,

That seem to have no place to go.

Well, it's the same old song, it's right and it's wrong,

And living is just something that I do.

And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes,

And I found myself in you.

I looked to the stars, tried all of the bars.

And I've nearly gone up in smoke.

Now my hand's on the wheel, I've something that's real,

And I feel like I'm going home.

…

Mesmerizing, isn't it?

In "hands on the wheel", the wheel refers to the steering wheel of a vehicle, not the four tyres touching ground. Apparently this term springs from the car culture. When you drive a car and you have your hands on the wheel, that means, well, they're in the right place. In other words you're doing the right thing. With hands on the wheel, you are in control. You have a sense of direction, as the Nelson sings, you "have something that's real", and you "feel like going home".

You don't want to have your hands off the wheel, obviously. I don't drive, but I'm sure people who do (drive) don't (have their hands off the wheel).

At least not all the time, I hope, because I am not so sure.

You see, some people obviously do keep their hands off the wheel, or have their eyes off the road every so often. Otherwise where do the traffic accidents come from, all the bruises and bumps, if not worse?

Metaphorically, we certainly don't always have our hands on the wheel of life. And the result: We often become aimless. We drift. We roam. We wander. We make dough but can't make merry. We don't know where we are heading. We are not happy. We are lost.

Or to borrow from a stand-up routine from Rowan Atkinson, better known as Mr. Bean, mimicking an MP (Member of Parliament) ranting, we constantly ask ourselves:

"Where are we? How did we get here? Why did we come? Where do we want to go? How do we want to get to where we want to go? How far do we have to go before we get to where we want to be? How would we know where we were when we got there? HAVE WE GOT A MAP?

"But surely, surely you can see my point. 'Cos what I'm talking about is life…"

Thanks, Mr. Bean. That is a lot to ask anyone, I'm sure. At least we can do this simple thing: When we drive the four-wheeled thing, keep both of our hands on the wheel, where they belong.

Or at least we hope to.