Grace: “The exercise of love, kindness, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another; favor bestowed or privilege conferred.”
It costs us nothing to extend grace to ourselves and others except our ego. May you live in a state of grace today and always.
In luv and Dessert,
Leisa Monique
If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know that here at #EMDF we embrace Monday and use the day to create a magnificent day and week. if you are new to the EMDF family I hope you, too will embrace Monday and use it to set the tone for the rest of your week.
I am super excited to kick off #MondayMantra, a weekly affirmation that you can use to get your Monday started. I will post a new Mantra every Monday in an effort to get more people to embrace the beauty of Monday rather than dread it.
In Luv and Dessert,
Leisa Monique
Recently I was driving and thinking about the fact that folks in my circle
were saying that they were not feeling the Christmas Spirit. I realized that I
wasn’t either. With everything going on around us be it socially, politically
or otherwise, I can see why we are feeling that way.
One thing that I do when I am feeling a certain way is ask myself the
question of why I’m feeling that way and what is the source of the feeling. After asking this
question about not being in the Spirit, I realized that it was because I had
not CREATED the Christmas Spirit within me. I started to reflect on all the
things that were going on in my own life and how I had let them interfere with
my joy. I also realized that I decided at that point that I was going home to
decorate my home and do what I needed to do to create the feeling of Christmas.
While getting together with girlfriends the next day I asked them if they
were in the Christmas Spirit. It wasn’t a surprise when they both replied that
there weren’t. I shared my revelation of not creating the Christmas spirit that
I had had the previous day with them, and we all agreed that the Christmas
Spirit is something that we could create. We had a profound conversation about
how people no longer greet each other with a “Merry Christmas” or a
“Happy Holidays” much anymore Like we experienced when we were growing
up. We reflected on how as children, we remembered our parents greeting
neighbors and people on the street with holiday greetings and well wishes. We
remembered the holiday baking and cooking and the feeling that these acts
brought with them. But we also reflected on some of the traumas that we
associated with this time of the year and how they still affect us. It was a
beautiful conversation on personal responsibility and connections and the power
of creation. We left there agreeing to go about our days greeting people that
we came in contact with and doing our part to crate the Holiday Spirit that we
felt was missing.
I hope that if you are not feeling much like Christmas right now or are not
in the Spirit of the holidays, that you will get yourself to a place where you
can create the feeling and the experience that you desire. As Divine beings we
have the power to create the reality that we want to have. Whether it be the
holiday Spirit or a life that we enjoy, we are powerful beings Divinely gifted
with the power to create our realities. There are many resources out there to
guide you in this process. I f you need help with this please reach out. I am
always here. May you have the happiest of holidays and may you create the life
that you truly desire.
In luv and dessert,
Leisa Monique
When was the last time you told your SELF Thank You? As you’ve thanked everyone for helping you, encouraging you and supporting you, have you thanked your SELF? It is easy to overlook the very person who dreams, who perseveres, who tries time and time again even when they fail. The person who gets up each day and goes about their day no matter how routine or mundane it may seem. The person who provides for themselves and their families. The person who supports and encourages others. The one who is always there for their friends and family. The person who believes in themselves, and in the power of their own dreams.
So often we make it a point to thank other people in our lives. When someone expresses kindness to us, we thank them. When someone gives us a compliment, we thank them. When someone offers their support to us, we thank them. We make sure to thank others. But thanking ourselves is something we may rarely think of doing but should do more often. After all, it is you that takes care of you. It is you that gets up and moves forward even when you don’t feel like it. Without YOU, you wouldn’t be able to do any of the things that you do. So, just as you acknowledge other and give thanks to and for them, do the same for your SELF and tell YOU Thank You.
~Leisa Monique
Be deliberate in your thinking for you create what you think about whether you want it or not. #MagnificentMonday #MondayMotivation. Follow us on Instagram @eatmydessertfirst.
What if, just for today, you let go of the need to know everything happening in your life?!
What if, just for today, you released your idea of how things should be and accepted things just as they are, as they unfold right before your eyes?!
What if you didn’t try to solve every “problem” that came up today but allowed the solution to emerge from the problem since with every problem comes a solution?!
What if, just for today, you decided to step into the realm of the unknown and trust that everything has already been worked out… for your good?!
What if, just for today, you decided to let go of the stress and worry created by attempting to control the flow of life and allowed life to flow…effortlessly?!
What if, just for today, you believed that there is a Divine power orchestrating the dance of the Universe and that it wants to dance with YOU?!
What if, just for today, you allowed yourself to experience all the wonder and all the splendor and all the mystery and all of the magic of life that is occurring around us at every moment?! What if…what if…what if…JUST FOR TODAY!
In luv and dessert,
Leisa Monique
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Magnificent Monday to you! Of course, by now, you all know that Monday is my favorite day of the week! I luv it because it’s the beginning of a brand new week and a chance to forgive any missteps we have experienced over the past week!
How are you starting your week off? I encourage you to begin by being good to yourself! Luv yourself! Tell yourself something good about yourself! So many of us go through our day with a negative attitude about ourselves. We tell our friends and co-workers how great they are, but we seldom express that same luv for ourselves.
So today, Monday, make it a point to be good to yourself! Find something wonderful about yourself and remind yourself of that fact all day today. Remind yourself of your goodness! Remind yourself of your intelligence! Remind yourself of your kindness to others! Remind yourself of your divinity! Remind yourself of your magnificence!
In luv and dessert,
Leisa Monique
Its Monday again; my favorite day of the week!! Its my new beginning and a day for a fresh start.
I got to bed late last night and overslept this morning. I missed the Sunrise which is my favorite part of the day. Instead of waking up the Sun smiling at me and to birds singing and trees rustling, I awoke to the sound of my blackberry chiming! I heard the noise of many cars and trucks driving by and voices of people. ARG! This is not how I want to start my morning!
I was tempted to immediately check that blackberry to see what those urgent messages were! My mind quickly turned to thoughts of concern for all the things that I have scheduled today: meetings with strategists, fundraising meetings, my bank account, my light and gas bill that is due, am I going to renew my lease and how much money I am going to need to do all of the things I need to do…you get the picture. See, I began to worry! Oh yes, even I get to a place of worry sometimes especially when I wake up late and don’t make time to sit in silence.
So that is exactly what I did…made time to sit in silence and just be! I locked my door so that my children don’t come barging in, ignored that chiming blackberry, and tuned out the world. I turned to the things that I do to quiet my mind: meditation, prayer, and writing. This is my DESSERT, and I had to make time to eat it first instead of jumping right into my day.
As I sat and turned my attention to my heartbeat, the worries that I had previously began to fade away. the familiar peace that I know so well came back, and the words ” BE STILL AND KNOW” filled me! I focused on these words, and as I sat, I meditated on them. As I breathed in, I mentally said them! As I breathed out, I mentally said them! I held on to them, and I knew that this was the Divine telling me there is nothing to worry about!
Although I let go of being a religious person a long time ago, I still love the Bible. The wisdom that it contains guides me. The words Be Still and Know… are from Psalms 46:10. This is the message that I want to give to you today: When you are tempted to worry, just be still and know! Know what you ask? Know that you are loved and that everything you need you already have. Know that everything will always be alright and if things seem to not be going your way, KNOW that the Divine has a much better plan for you! Something better than you had ever imagined!
So take time this Monday to be still. Find a place where you can go to just sit quietly and listen. Be grateful for this day and all the opportunities disguised as challenges that will present themselves to you today! I call them opportunities for growth! Instead of looking at them as problems, change your perspective and see them as opportunities! This is your time to evolve! this is your time to grow! This is your time to BE STILL AND KNOW that everything will be alright!
In luv and dessert,
Leisa Monique
Eat My Dessert First 