MSI Press Blog

  Let’s begin with a confession: I used to think emotions were like weather—unpredictable, inconvenient, and best endured quietly until they passed. I preferred the sturdiness of logic, the clarity of action, the safety of detachment. But somewhere between caregiving crises, spiritual retreats, and late-night porch conversations with my multigenerational household, I began to suspect that emotions weren’t interruptions to growth—they were the curriculum. Emotions as Teachers, Not Tourists We often treat emotions like uninvited guests. Anger? Slam the door. Grief? Hide the good china. Joy? Let it in, but only if it promises not to rearrange the furniture. But what if emotions aren’t visitors at all? What if they’re residents—part of the architecture of our inner lives? Personal growth isn’t a tidy staircase. It’s more like a spiral—revisiting old wounds with new wisdom, circling back to joy with deeper reverence. Emotions guide that spiral. They point to what matters, what hurts...

  excerpt from  Learning to Feel  (Kris Girrell) --  3 We See the World as WE Are Let me start this with a little true story: When I was a child, my family lived in Germany on a military base. We kids played outside on the stoop and sidewalks since there were not any playgrounds to speak of. On one particular day I was on the landing outside the entrance playing with a truck or some cool toy. The others were scattered around the sidewalk three or four steps down from the landing. When asked if I would share my toy with the others, I refused and was very possessive about it. This set the other children off and they started teasing and mocking me for being “stingy.” The more they taunted me the angrier I got until I hit some sort of breaking point. I was as enraged as a four-year-old boy could be. Standing up, I noticed one of the bricks—a half brick, actually—along the side of the steps that was loose. In my anger, I picked it up and threw it at the other kids and it ...

  🔄 Transform Your Life: Emotional Intelligence and the Power of Feeling Life doesn’t transform in sweeping cinematic moments. More often, it shifts when you begin to honor the quiet voice inside—the one you've trained yourself to ignore. Transformation starts when you stop managing feelings and begin to understand them. Emotional intelligence isn’t a tool to “fix” your life. It’s the lens through which your life becomes yours again. 🌬️ Reclaiming the Emotional Landscape You’re not broken for feeling deeply. You’re not weak for being overwhelmed. These emotions aren’t obstacles—they’re invitations. Through emotional intelligence, you learn to: Name what you feel without shame. Sense your triggers and unpack their roots. Create space between reaction and response. Let empathy inform your choices without erasing your boundaries. Transformation begins the moment you treat emotions as allies rather than enemies. 🎯 Every Feeling Has a Message Feeling lost? That’s awareness knocking. ...