Kathy Baker

On Friday, July 3, my husband and I were in downtown Kent with family, awaiting the annual fireworks display. At about nine o’clock, the weather suddenly changed. The wind whipped up and dark clouds filled the sky.

Our nation, as you cannot help but know, is in the midst of celebrating the anniversary of its founding, which was 250 years ago. We’ve been seeing reminders of this milestone everywhere: Red, white and blue signs, decorations and streamers.

This week, we marked a solemn holiday, dedicated to honoring the memory of all military personnel who sacrificed their lives in service of our country. More recently, many also consider this holiday as a day on which to honor and remember all loved ones who have passed on.

I believe our country is in deep trouble — divided as never before in our lifetimes. Not geographically, but interpersonally. People believe what they want to believe. Facts are no longer accepted as truth. And the rhetoric these days — from all sources — is scorching hot, which helps no one.

Our country — as well as the rest of the world — is in great disarray these days. It can be difficult for us to breathe, to stay focused, to find peace in our hearts. So, I am determined to give you a brief vacation from all that. When I say brief: this mini-vacation may last only as long as it takes you to read this. Or maybe you can make it last a bit longer.

My words to you this month were inspired by the following quote, written in the fourteenth century by the great Persian poet and mystic, Hafez: “The small man builds cages for everyone he knows. While the sage, who has to duck her head when the moon is low, keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful, rowdy prisoners.”

An amaryllis plant stands tall on my kitchen counter. I wonder if it has any idea how beautiful it is. At first, it was simply a nondescript, brown knob. Then, seemingly overnight, it became a tall, green stalk. Little by little, a perfect flower appeared. Soon, I thought, it will shrivel and die, as plants do. But that’s not what happened.

SHOPPING: What should we get for Uncle Impossible? Where can we find that widget Dad wants? We’re blowing the budget, Marion! But, John, it adds up; we have so many to buy for! Where did I hide Mildred’s gift?

You’re about to receive a thanksgiving gift.  No, I didn’t forget to capitalize the “t” in “thanksgiving.”  This gift has nothing to do with turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie or spending a day with your favorite (or not-so-favorite) relatives. The gift being offered to you, by several authors and philosophers, including myself, is even better than that.  In fact, it’s priceless.

I see your suffering. I hear your cries, I see you stoically masking your fear, your anguish. I see the resignation, signifying that no hope remains. Floods, fires and earthquakes are heartquakes.

Do you remember the classic book, “The Velveteen Rabbit,” by Margery Williams? It’s the delightful tale of a stuffed bunny that becomes real. If you can suspend the grownup, practical voice that says, “Yeah, right! As if a stuffed animal can become real” you might just learn something. Because all the best children’s stories offer meaningful messages for people of all ages.

I knew that 2025 was going to be a big year for me. It certainly started out that way. In March, I celebrated one of those significant “big number” birthdays, filled with gifts, congratulations and lovely surprises.

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” This quote by Anaïs Nin has always resonated with me. It vividly highlights the effort it requires to live fully, to become who and what we are intended to be.

Why is it that, though we all agree the best things in life aren’t things, we constantly invest so much of our energy in acquiring things? Why does it have to be a Van Gogh, a Lexus or a Versace, instead of simply a pretty picture, a car that runs or a dress that fits?

Life is a journey, as we’re often reminded.  My own life has taken me to mountaintops of joy, valleys of despair, and everything in between.  Recently, my internal journey, conversations with my authentic, interior self, has been a wild ride.  One filled with twists and turns, unfamiliar passageways winding through darkness and shadows–and finally, the arrival of a moment of clarity.  

Although I wrote this on the official first day of spring, in our neck of the woods we never quite know when to trust that winter is truly over. It might be today, tomorrow, or April (or May?) before all chances of snow are past. I think of spring as a lovely young woman, winking at us from over her shoulder, as she sashays in and out of Northeast Ohio. Unpredictability, I believe, is just part of her very considerable […]

Years ago — eons ago, actually — I wrote an article entitled, “What I Know for Sure.” It was about things I could count on not to change, things that were written in stone, so to speak.

News reports from California show us weary firefighters who, with smoke-stained faces and gritty determination, struggle to hold the line against Mother Nature. We see the anxious faces of those whose homes lie in the path of destruction—people who have had to pack up whatever they could carry, leaving their beloved homes and precious possessions behind. Worst of all are the reports of lives lost. Of homes, schools, churches, entire neighborhoods and communities gone forever.