Essentials of Balance:
The Pause + Wait = Emerge Cycle: Part II
The Sacred Space of Waiting
We live in a world that worships speed—quick fixes, instant answers, fast healing. But what if the real work, the deep restoration, happens not in the doing, but in the waiting? This week, we’re exploring the uncomfortable, often overlooked truth: healing takes time. As a therapist (and self-proclaimed professional fixer), I’ve learned that rushing the process rarely leads to wholeness. True healing—emotional, spiritual, or physical—asks us to slow down, to pause, and to sit with what is.
In this reflection, I invite you into the rhythm of Pause, Wait, Emerge—a cycle that mirrors the natural process of healing. Because healing doesn’t arrive on command. It unfolds. And if we dare to stay with it, even when it’s messy or uncertain, we might just find the restoration we didn’t know we needed.
“The waiting is the hardest part, but it’s also the place where transformation begins.”
Waiting as a Form of Healing
Yes, waiting can feel like standing in the middle of a fog with no clear path forward. It’s uncomfortable, uncertain—sometimes even excruciating. But what if this is the sacred ground where healing begins? In a world that pushes us to patch things up quickly, to move on, to get over it—I’ve had to unlearn the urge to fix. I’ve made a career out of asking the kinds of questions that lead people back to themselves. Not fixing, but holding space. Not rushing, but listening. Because healing isn’t something we do to ourselves—it’s something we allow ourselves to move through.
Healing—whether emotional, spiritual, or physical—rarely follows our preferred timeline. We cannot rush grief, nor can we force understanding or acceptance. Instead, healing requires us to sit with our emotions, to trust the process, to be patient with ourselves.
What might you discover if you allowed yourself to wait, rather than rush, your way to healing?The Pause, Wait, Emerge cycle is deeply connected to the process of healing because healing itself is not instantaneous—
Healing unfolds in phases, requiring time, patience, and intentional reflection. This cycle mirrors the natural rhythms of emotional, physical, and spiritual restoration, allowing us to move through the discomfort of change and emerge with renewed strength.
Pausing: Creating Space for Awareness in Healing
Healing begins with the ability to stop and acknowledge where we are. Often, when we are hurt—whether emotionally, physically, or mentally—our instinct is to keep moving, to distract ourselves, or to push through pain. However, true healing requires a pause.
Pausing allows us to recognize what needs healing—we cannot heal what we do not acknowledge.
It provides space to process emotions instead of suppressing them.
It fosters self-compassion by allowing us to care for ourselves rather than ignoring our needs.
Pausing is, a radical act of self-care, giving us the time to sit with our experiences before attempting to “fix” them.
Waiting: The Difficult but Necessary Process of Healing
The waiting phase is often the most uncomfortable, but it is also the most transformative. Healing is rarely linear; it does not operate on a schedule. In the waiting period, growth is happening beneath the surface, even if we do not see immediate progress.
Waiting is where emotional wounds mend and perspectives shift. It is a time of processing, integrating lessons, and slowly rebuilding.
It teaches patience and trust—just as a physical wound needs time to close, emotional wounds need time to be understood and redefined.
It allows us to sit with our emotions without rushing toward resolution, which is essential for deep, lasting healing.
Much like grief, healing cannot be hurried. The waiting phase reminds us that transformation takes time, and every moment in this space is meaningful—even when it feels stagnant.
Emerging: Stepping Forward with Renewed Strength
After pausing to acknowledge and waiting to process, we do not return to who we were before. Instead, we emerge—changed, strengthened, and often more aligned with ourselves.
Emerging is not about “getting over” something, but about integrating healing into our journey.
We step forward with greater clarity, understanding, and resilience.
We carry the lessons of the pause and wait with us, moving forward with wisdom instead of avoidance.
Healing is not about erasing pain but about transforming through it. The Pause, Wait, Emerge cycle honors this process, giving us the space to heal deeply rather than superficially. It reminds us that healing is not about rushing to feel “better” but about allowing ourselves the grace to move through discomfort, trust the timing of our journey, and emerge whole.
Furthermore, Through The Pause +Wait= Emerge Cycle
We are Able to:
Listen to our bodies and emotions instead of pushing through…
Reassess our direction rather than moving forward simply because that’s what we have always done.
Reconnect with joy and gratitude by being present in the small and beautiful moments of life.
What Can We Hold On To?
In these in-between spaces, where we feel lost between chaos and wholeness, between what has fallen apart and what is yet to be rebuilt, we need anchors—truths that ground us when everything else feels uncertain. Some of the things we can hold on to include:
• The Present Moment – Instead of obsessing over what’s next or regretting the past, we can lean into the present. Each moment offers something to learn, a chance to breathe, to reflect, or to grow.
• Hope, Even When It’s Small – Hope isn’t always a grand feeling; sometimes, it’s a quiet decision to believe that things can change, even when we don’t yet see how.
• The Strength We’ve Already Built – This isn’t the first difficult season we’ve faced. We have already survived things we thought we wouldn’t, and we will do it again.
• Community and Support – Even when we feel alone, we are not meant to navigate the wilderness by ourselves. Finding safe people to lean on can make the journey more bearable.
• The Truth of Who We Are – Rejection, failure, and uncertainty don’t define us. Our worth is not dependent on circumstances or external validation.
Waiting is undeniably challenging. Yet, within this discomfort lies a profound opportunity for healing. By embracing the Pause, Wait, Emerge cycle, we allow ourselves the grace to heal authentically, without haste. This week, I encourage you to reflect on your own healing journey. Consider the areas where patience could foster deeper restoration.
Call to Action:
Take a moment to journal about a time when waiting led to personal growth or healing. Share your insights in the comments below to inspire and connect with others on similar paths.
A very necessary read.