There is a change in tide that’s coming. Some say the wave will be blue. Others hope the Red Sea will part. But the wave I see is actually one my dad used to call “a Sleeper “.

From the distance these waves don’t look like much. You know they’re out there but you don’t pay much attention because they don’t look as dangerous as the one’s crashing around you creating all the noise. These Sleeper Waves start out smaller than their more formidable opponents but quietly build power and force as they ride between the others.

Change is coming. The usual experts will continue to predict and forecast based on the waves color because color is all they see. They fail to understand the depth of this “Sleeper Waves” power. It’s not where it ends that really matters. The secret it holds is in how it began and where it began.

Sleeper waves begin with dissatisfaction, frustration and turmoil far below the sea. But at some point, the tension becomes uncontainable and forces its way to the surface creating a movement.

Sleeper waves: you don’t want to mess around with this kind of change.

What I think doesn’t really matter. It’s what I believe that really counts. This is a discussion I had with a friend of mine the other day. 

Here’s the difference.

What we think starts as an idea. We get those ideas from what we read, what we hear or what we experience from others. Sharing what we think is safe. 

 “What we believe” goes much deeper than what we think. Our beliefs start in our head and before becoming beliefs must find their way into our mouth where we can chew on them. Those thoughts travel to our stomach where we digest them and finally they end up in our blood stream and are lodged in our heart.

The heart is where idea’s become beliefs. It is there where they anchor themselves to our very being. The difficult thing about beliefs is they become part of us. Exposing those beliefs is like being naked in front of people. People can put up with our ideas and thoughts but when they become beliefs those same people can feel threatened.

I believe that is one of the problems you find in politics today.  There are too many thoughts, rooted in polls, popular opinion and culture. At first the words sound good. Sometimes they even make sense. But the sweet taste turns bitter the longer you listen. The words that once brought perceived clarity sound more like a clamoring symbol or something out of my public relations class in college.

Here’s a test to see if your idea is a belief. The next time you have an idea say nothing. Swirl your thoughts around in your head like fine wine in a glass. Smell the thought to make sure it’s aged to perfection and before you let it slip off your tongue chew it, swallow it, digest it and let it enter your blood stream. That’s the only way to get your thoughts to your heart.

Maybe what I think really doesn’t matter. But what I believe makes all the difference in the world.

I keep hearing so much about Change these days. So what does CHANGE really mean?

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary says “Change” is:

to make different in some particular

to make radically different

to give a different position, course, or direction to

to replace with another

to make a shift from one to another

to exchange for an equivalent sum or comparable item

to undergo a modification of

to undergo transformation, transition or substitution

That’s the definition and it sounds good when you read the first line: to make different in some particular.

But keep reading down the list. Actually, stop at number two. That’s the tough one: To make radically different. Then if you keep moving down the list it gets even more difficult: to replace with another, to shift from one to another, to transform.

Change is good. In fact change is great. But before you go asking for change, you’d better make sure you are ready for what you are about to receive. 

If my life was a book, spread across pages for people to read, what would it say? Page after page filled with seconds, minutes, hours, days and years. But what would it really look like?

We tend to look at our lives based on chapters. We measure success by standards decided by our culture. We put titles on the chapters and then try to fill them with things that sound good or with ideas society will embrace.  So, is that still our life or at some point does the story start to sound like someone else’s?

We look back at our story’s beginning to try and figure out how it will end, failing to recognize that we are not the author but the co-author of this story. As we plot the next chapter, so that eleven is better than ten, we miss things. We overwrite and what can get lost are not necessarily the plot but the element of surprise. Surprise is the most interesting part of every story and yet when it comes to writing our own we prefer to know ahead of time what will happen. None of us really knows how our story will end or even take shape tomorrow and yet we try so hard to make it so.

Maybe it’s time to release our grip on the pen or in this case the computer screen. Perhaps the end of our story should not be based on how it began. Release the pen, open the story line and don’t allow those around you to feed or steal the plot.

We get one story you and I and we should write it not to impress or mimic what’s around us. Instead, we should give ourselves room to breath, be quiet, listen and remember we are not the lone author. This is a joint project. Now, go find out what the other half of the team sees and write it down.

The media is starting to talk about my race for Secretary of State. It’s talking about how much money I’ve raised. That’s the headline in the City/Region Section of the Register Guard. Yesterday there was an article in the Associated Press that talked about this place we all hang out together. That’s right, the media is talking about our blog.

It’s not a bad thing and it’s a very expected part of the process. Remember, I was part of the media for 23 years so I get it.

I have to say, it’s interesting to be on this side of the lens. In today’s Guard article they talk about how a big portion of my fundraising money is coming from the Timber Industry. As Secretary of State I will serve on the State’s Land Board. As a reporter I always covered Timber Issues with balance and that is why the industry would like to see me in this position. Our state lands need to be managed to protect and to prosper. The money raised off the management of these lands helps fund education in Oregon. I’m also getting a lot of money from farmers and agriculture and from people like you. 

Gosh, this is starting to sound like a stump speech and for that I am sorry.

The other reason the Timber Industry, Agriculture, Business People and a lot of others I might add, would like to see me win this position is redistricting. In two years we’ll do another census in Oregon. The Secretary of State could end up in the position of redrawing state house and senate seats. The last time this was done it was done based on partisanship. In other words it was done unfairly to give one party an unfair advantage over the other. I think that’s wrong. If that responsibility comes to me, I would not go in and try to give Republicans and unfair advantage either. I would redraw those lines based on “Communities of Interest”. That’s the way it is supposed to be done.

Those backing me financially know that I’ve always been fair in my work. They know that they aren’t going to get an unfair advantage over anyone. With me they will have someone who will put the politics behind him and do what’s fair.I have a history of listening, not just to my party but to everyone. I did that in my job as a Journalist and will do the same thing as Secretary of State.

One interesting note from the article shows that my opponent has raised almost as much from union leadership, as I have from all my supporters combined.

Dancer Total $139,508

Opponents Union Total $135,191

I have a rant I’d like to share with you. It has to do with the time 6:50 pm.  When I worked in the news business I liked 6:50 in the evening. That meant there were only 10 minutes left in the newscast and in 600 seconds I would be walking out the door headed for home. But tonight, right now, 6:50 pm irritates me.

Why?

It’s Saturday Night, we would like to go see a movie and then go out to dinner. But all the movies seem to start at 6:50 pm. By the time you get out of the movie it’s 9:30 or 10:00 and in Eugene/Springfield that means most places to eat are closed or shutting down.

My Question;

Why can’t movies start at 5:30 pm or 6:00 pm?

Just writing that down makes me feel so much better.

The office is empty. It’s just me. There are some flowers on the desk that my wife dropped off. Over on the counter, some chocolate covered coffee beans that my staff brought in. The light on the desk lamp is on. The office next door is dark. The sky is gray, has been all day.

As I look straight ahead, into a mirror on the wall, I see a man looking back at me. There’s something familiar about him. His hair is gray, the wrinkles on his forehead haven’t flattened out and that one side of his jaw that sticks out still sticks out. But still, this isn’t the guy I looked at in the mirror this morning. Something in his eyes has changed since then.

All day I’ve been itching to write this story.  Deep down words stir, waiting for the brain to feed the heart and then release to my fingers those thoughts that won’t go away. There are times, rare moments in life when there is no utterance worthy of wrapping you lips around. The only release for such a time is to find a computer screen, a piece of paper or a journal to grasp, connect with, and use as your nonverbal sounding board. Here there are no listeners only a few who will choose to go beyond the headline of the blog to read words, instead of hearing them. There are even fewer who will read between the lines to connect with what’s really being said and that’s the best part about writing. When you write you can uncover, recover or discover those things that normally sleep in the quiet corners of our lives.

As I look into the mirror at the man staring back at me, I think I know what’s different about him. It is His eyes. Peace, in the midst of concern brings a clarity that I’ve never noticed before. It brings persistence, power and a sense of purpose. But that look doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t just happen. You find it when words cannot form to tell what is going on. You find it when flowers and chocolate covered coffee beans show up on your desk and after everyone else goes home.

Kathy picked up this book in Sisters this weekend that is amazing. It’s Called “Live like you were dying.” It was written by the same guys who wrote the song Tim McGraw sings. Anyway, in the book is this one page and this is what is written on it. I like what it says and want you to see it.

Go! Just Go! Right, left, wrong, right-GO! No stopping and looking back. No what-ifs. Just GO! This is something new. There are no wrong moves-you’ll learn from everything. There are no mistakes except inaction. GO! You’re scared to do this? I’m scared you won’t do it. Go, even if it’s in the completely wrong direction at first. Say your prayers and GO!

What are you waiting for? Get a move on!

I’m standing on the edge of a canyon. There is a huge gap between where I stand and the other side. I know I must get to the other side but the expanse is great and getting there seems impossible.

For months, my efforts have been on building a bridge. It makes so much sense. You start here, and go to there. I look for materials. Concrete and steel make the most sense. But such products are expensive so I must find the money to pay for the goods so we can get from here to there.

But as I look out over the project my eyes keep focusing downward, at the bottom of the canyon. The depth of this canyon is so great. Those around me stand and look with me at the great gap and say it is insurmountable and caution me to turn back. Other’s say you need a bigger bridge, more steel, more concrete, more money.

One day, as I’m looking out over the edge I hear the project foreman tell me to stop looking at the gap, to take my eyes off the ground below and instead remember why we started this bridge project in the first place. He tells me to keep my eyes on the horizon, on the other side. He says stop listening to the people on this side of the canyon, they don’t know where you are headed. That’s why I picked you. Not because of your great skill or name recognition but because from the beginning of time I knew you would listen and do the right thing.

The master builder then pulls out the plans for the bridge. I expect to see this grand structure, able to carry many cars, trucks and people to the other side. But that’s not what I see. Instead I find a bridge that is not made of concrete or steel but instead is a simple, wooden structure. It’s a sturdy bridge but there is no way it will take masses of people to the other side at one time. I look at the master builder and say, “what kind of bridge is that?” When people see this plan they will laugh, scoff and turn the other way. The builder says to me they will not see the plan. The only folks who will understand are those I choose to show. He looks at me and says “now, rick, go build this bridge and stop trying to build the one that looks right to everyone else”.

You see, what we are doing is building a bridge. But it’s not our bridge. The plan has already been laid. What we need to do is put down our weapons and pick up the master builders plans and get to work. The bridge will not look crossable to those on the other side. No one’s going to stand up and say, that’s the bridge.

The bridge we are building is not for a mass of people. Many will cross but it will be two by two. You see, the master builder never forces anyone to cross to the other side; instead he uses relationships to build the bridge.

The old ways will not work. Relationships are what are going to make this happen. Do we need money to build the bridge? You bet we do. That’s a reality but our focus should be instead on the message. What are we really trying to do? Are we trying to get our side to the other side or are we trying to create a bridge that everyone can cross over.

It’s time to change our attitude about what we’re really doing out here. Stop looking at the bottom of the canyon and lift our eyes to the horizon to see the other side. 

Politics is a weird world. I left my career in Television News because I was tired of talking about change and wanted to get to a place where I could actually help make change. But do you know what I’m finding? Change won’t just happen you have to fight for it and much of that fight is to stay connected to people.

The system we’ve created (Politics) works against itself. Politicians want to help but must spend so much time raising money, watching the internet, preparing for all of the questions and scrutiny that public service can get lost in the mix. I was scouring the World Wide Web tonight looking for ideas and doing my duty when my wife walked into the room and put everything in perspective.

Our neighbor Willard is nearing the century mark. My wife likes to make too much dinner or too many treats so she can share them with our dear neighbor. Tonight, while I was doing this, she was over at Willard’s sharing food and a bit of life with him. She walked in the door and said “Rick, I love taking things over to Willard. It’s the look on his face that says everything”.

So I’m sitting here at this computer saying to myself, maybe I need to refocus? I want to see “The Look” too. Yes, staying in touch, raising money and attending events are all important aspects of a campaign but they aren’t the most important part. I think it’s time to revise the plan to include even more relationship. I’ll shut off the computer, turn off the phone and get back to what I do best. A little berry cobbler goes a long way. 

I really like this picture of our family. It shows, while we are one unit, we are very separate individuals. Jake, my oldest boy is into cars, long hair, and being who he is supposed to be. Jake asks lots of questions and love fast cars and computers.

Kathy started cycling a few years ago and got me into it as well. This is one of the things we love to do together. I think when you’re married to someone you’ve got to find things you enjoy doing like this. It keeps us active, it gives us a hobby and it keeps us in shape. We each have interests that don’t include each other too. But it’s so important to find things together.

And Jess, he’s our outdoorsman. He likes to hunt, fish, and fire guns, ride quads and go places no man has gone before. For this picture he actually has a Mohawk. He and his friend all got them for high school graduation. He agreed not to spike it the day of the picture.

This picture really shows us as individuals as well as being a team. We don’t see as much of the boys. They still live at home but they have their own lives. College will start in the fall and we’ll probably see even less of them. More changes will come that’s life. But we’ve allowed our kids to make their own decisions with lots of input. That’s not always easy to do. It’s just nice when they get to an age where you can say, I think it worked. I think they get it.

He must have heard me.

I was on the phone, just now, making cold calls for money. A cold call is when you phone people who’ve donated to Republican Candidates to ask for their support. I called a woman named Susan from the Beaverton area. We had a great conversation and she asked me to send her some information. Then she asked me this question: “Do you have any family in Beaverton?” I said yes, my dad was Roy Dancer. Susan couldn’t believe it. She said “I knew your dad. He helped me when I was dealing with some political issues in Beaverton. She went on to say “your dad was an angel.” I got off the phone and found something wet rolling down my cheek.

Why does that happen? We get busy and forget that death still stings. To make matters even more odd, I stopped by dad’s grave yesterday on the way to a campaign meeting. I didn’t say a lot to him. I just said hi. I forgot flowers but found a plastic one on the ground and placed it on dad’s grave. I just wanted to remember him. I wasn’t asking him for help but I wonder that he didn’t know I needed it. Dad was a Democrat and very powerful in the political arena. He knew it and understood it well. I wish he were here right now.

I don’t know if we become angels when we get to Heaven. I highly doubt it.I think that’s something humans come up with. But in the case of my dad apparently it doesn’t matter. According to Susan, dad had already arrived.

Dad, thanks for listening.

Stories that start our day.

I walk into the coffee shop in Welch’s this morning. The woman at the counter seems a little frazzled. She starts explaining her morning and I understand. As she was leaving for work she finds a bear in the front yard near her car. Her husband comes out with a gun, scares the bear and the rest of her morning carries with it that unexpected moment.

Yesterday, when I was up in the pump house I notice the water pump is shut off. The switch is thrown. No one touched it. That’s what happens when something’s wrong. Ted the water pump man comes out to my house, pulls my pump out of a 260 foot hole and leaves me a message saying to call him this morning for the diagnosis. I haven’t called yet. My morning carries with it that unexpected moment.

Two men sitting in the coffee shop argue over the Olympics, the siding on the house and local politics. Their voices are just loud enough to cause a rumble in the room. One just sided his house and talks of how people don’t like him. I think they’ve had this conversation before. I think they’ve gone down this road regularly. The arguing continues. Theirs is not an unexpected moment. But it’s the story that starts their day. What story starts yours?

We have no conception of what God is aiming at, and as we go on it gets more and more vague.

I read this quote by Oswald Chambers this morning and it hit me, this is how life works. We in the Faith Community spend so much time trying to figure out what God is doing with us we almost forget to live. We want to walk a mossy path through a meadow rather than make a roadway by our own hands, where He leads. We tend to want the easy way out rather than putting our own agenda aside and serving Him, which usually means serving others. We want to avoid things that are costly, that require self-denial, or sacrifice, and instead focus on what “we” are doing. It doesn’t work that way. I used to think not knowing what tomorrow would bring was the worst thing in the world. Now it’s a way of life and to be honest with you I’m not only starting to get used to it I’m starting to enjoy the adventure. Funny how the thing we desire is usually hidden behind our deepest fears.

Kathy and I just got back from what was supposed to be a sixty-mile bike ride. We thought we’d finish in four or five hours. As it turns out the ride was 74 miles and took us more than seven hours. The ride took us along the backside of London, Oregon, which is near Cottage Grove. We read the map and saw that it was a pretty tough ride. It said we’d hit a high elevation of 4000 feet.

What it didn’t say was that you were climbing at a very steep angle for about 9 miles. We never take enough food. We did take enough water. When we climbed down out of the mountains and saw a sign that said Cottage Grove 27 miles, we thought we were going to die. I was so hungry.

When we finally pulled up to the car I unlocked the door, ripped open the cooler and grabbed my chicken sandwich. In one minute the thing was gone. I then started eating plums, the car seat, and my clothes. Okay, I’m kidding.

Now my wife is drying her hair. We just took showers and will go to Mazzi’s and order a huge Calzone, a salad and then, since my heart monitor says we burned more than 4000 calories, we’ll stop by Dairy Queen and get a sundae.

That’s the second best feeling in the world; working out so hard that you can eat like a pig and feel okay about it. I’m not sure what the Best feeling in the world is. To each his/her own.

When you step out of one life and into another there can be casualties.

Five months ago, when I stepped out of TV and into Politics things in my life had to die. In some cases it was more like murder but we won’t get into that here. In the big picture much of it was very good. I can say that now. But with change there are often times unintended casualties.

I gained some freedom and lost some at the same time. Freedom works like that. There’s always a cost to be free. Some of the things I lost were lunch hours, morning coffee with friends, random phone calls during the day. When you spend your life on the phone asking for money there seems to be no time for a conversation with a friend.

This past week I rediscovered something that I’m choosing to bring back into my life. During a phone interview with a Portland Radio Station, my friend Loren stopped by my office and watched as I wrapped up the live conversation. Actually, he was making fun of my hand gestures. I talk with my hands, a lot. After I was finished we had a great talk. Later my friend Jason called and we talked for a long time, not about the campaign, but about our lives. As I was talking I thought I miss this. I need this. Later it was a text message from Ben, then an email from Korenza and Kim. Yesterday I had the chance to sit down with Eric and talk about “God Stuff” the way we used to.

This campaign has given me the chance to find many new friends but I’m finding I miss the old ones and want them back too. So, I will make the time for random phone calls. I will make a point to have morning coffee with friends. I will make sure that something old accompanies something new.