How do you eat an elephant? metaphorically that is.

It’s a funny saying, isn’t it? I don’t remember ever being asked that question growing up, yet recently I just can’t seem to get away from it. What’s that about? I know that I’ve been a bit restless lately, and being an Aries, I don’t like to sit still very long. I’ve been craving a passion project to really sink my teeth into, but I haven’t quite found it yet.

Then, something clicked around 3am this morning. I was wide awake and just couldn’t go back to sleep. Not even those soothing rain music videos on YouTube could quieten my brain, who had clearly latched onto a time zone where the sun was already up. I gave up fighting it, sat up in the dark and had a conversation with myself.

What’s the elephant in your life, Ronna?

It’s the relationship between my body and food. You see, I love to dance. It’s been one of the constants in my life. Actually, so has been my love of food. Back when I had the studio, I would dance at least five days a week (plus a few days at the gym). Sometimes at least three hours a night when we were training or preparing for shows.

Even though my jiggle in the middle was growing, I continued to use dance as an excuse to overeat.

That morning, I got real with myself. Sure, at the size that I am right now I can still dance and climb mountains, but my body tends to suffer in the days after. I think back to when Kat and I were walking back to the car park during our Mt. Hikurangi hike, my legs had been cramping for hours and I was in a lot more pain than I would say. I saw it as my wake up call to get serious about my health. 

They say that focus goes where energy flows - and I feel I’m surrounding myself with people who will motivate me in smashing this goal. I’m really enjoying belly dance, and since joining the Devabelly ladies, I’ve fully embraced my own flavour of femininity. And tonight at Zumba, I went so hard I almost vomited (I’m just out of shape), but wow, the energy in the hall was electric! Two very different energies, yet both are so good for my soul.

So, how do you eat an elephant? You take one bite at a time. You grit your teeth when you get frustrated and let it go. Take baby steps even if it scares you. As long as I do one small thing that makes today better than yesterday, I know I’m heading in the right direction.

xo Ronna Grace

fivefootronna is Ronna Grace Funtelar - a thirtyish adventurer, sometimes poet and lover of cheese. She has a unique brand of optimism that is a combination of her great enthusiasm for life and cups of coffee during the day.