HC Classic: My Motorcycle Diary

A couple years ago, I decided to take motorcycle lessons. Okay, I’ll admit it: motorcycle lessons appealed primarily to my over-developed sense of adventure, but in my defense, it’s not a bad skill for an actor to be able to list on his résumé. So I got all geared up and drove my car out to the nearby community college parking lot with visions of me whipping my bike around pylons with Matrix-like precision and ferocity.

Which is why it was a little disappointing that we spent most of the morning without even getting on the motorcycles. Eventually, however, the instructor let us start up the engines – only to direct us through a series of exercises in which we did nothing more than travel in a straight line. By that time, my Matrix pipe dream had vanished completely.

But then, suddenly, it was time to actually go somewhere. Since going anywhere is pretty much impossible without making some turns, the instructor also gave us this crucial piece of advice when it comes to steering, “Turn your head and look. You’ll naturally steer in the direction your eyes follow. You’ll go where you look.”

Come to think of it, that’s pretty good advice for just about anything in life, isn’t it? We pretty naturally head towards what we keep our eyes on. What we pay the most attention to usually ends up being our destination. Maybe that’s why King David, who was surrounded by all sorts of distractions in Psalm 141, said so decisively, “My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord…”

We’ve got a brand new year here, an open road with the potential for some pretty amazing things for us as creative artists and as individuals. And with that potential comes a choice: You can choose to drive through this year in a basic straight line, essentially maintaining the status quo. Or you can give in to your own over-developed sense of adventure and actually go somewhere.

It’s one of the most astounding opportunities you have, both in your relationship with God and in being an artist: You can go as far and as deep as you want to. But that choice is yours. And in a world full of all sorts of distractions, you will make your decision by the vision you maintain, by what you decide to keep your eyes on. You’ll go where you look.

It’s a brand new year stretching out ahead of us. And so, with my best Eastwood growl, let me take this opportunity to ask you: What are you looking at?

All my best,

Shun Lee
Actor | Writer
Director of The Greenhouse

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