Change and challenge,  Choices and decisions,  Personal growth

Stop the insults

“Dismiss whatever insults your own soul.” ~Walt Whitman

Today’s advice from Walt Whitman got me thinking about things that “insult my soul” and make me cringe. Topping my list are filthy bathrooms in restaurants, along with vulgar and obnoxious political leaders.

There are dozens of other odious behaviors that some of us tolerate, even when they’re long past their expiration dates. Maybe we cling to habits that harm our health. Maybe we keep allowing certain people to disrespect us, or take us for granted. Maybe we keep ruminating on old emotional pain or anger. Maybe we keep settling for less because we’re not convinced that we deserve better.

Years ago, when Victoria magazine was introduced, its founding editor gave it a subtitle: A Return to Loveliness. This quest for all things beautiful guided Victoria’s lifestyle content, and became a guidepost for my own choices — including how I want to treat others and how I want to be treated. Along those lines, what would happen if we’d all stop allowing our souls to be insulted, as Whitman suggests? What if we stopped settling for less? ~CL

Throughout my career, I've worked as a book production editor, travel magazine editor, features writer, and weekly newspaper columnist. My award-winning lifestyles features and essays have appeared in many national magazines and anthologies, including Newsweek, Reader's Digest, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer's Digest, Victoria, Better Homes & Gardens, Bella Grace, and more. My weekly Sunday "Life Lines" column ran for 14 years in The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, MI) and won a First Place (Local Columns) award from the Michigan Press Association. My essay collection, Writing Home, includes 93 previously published columns and essays focusing on parenthood and family life.

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