The Power of the Pause: What Do You Focus On?
By Donna ZajoncFour weeks ago, our beloved co-founder and visionary, David Emerald, peacefully left this earth. His sudden passing has ushered in a transition time unlike any other for those of us who loved him—and for…
By Donna ZajoncFour weeks ago, our beloved co-founder and visionary, David Emerald, peacefully left this earth. His sudden passing has ushered in a transition time unlike any other for those of us who loved him—and for The Empowerment Dynamic (TED*) community that he nurtured with such care.
Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the privilege of sorting through David’s belongings and revisiting cherished memories. One file I hadn’t seen in many years was titled “My Poems.” Inside were several pieces he wrote during a major transition in 2001–2002, when he moved from his home state of Ohio to the Pacific Northwest, where he would live for nearly 25 years. I’d often heard him speak of the “fertile void” as a name for the in-between space of transition—but I hadn’t remembered that he wrote a poem with that very title in August 2001.The Fertile Void"At the end of the tears, the throat constrictsand neither wants to breathe nor swallow,for either is to take in the reality of this dying to what was.
What will be is not yet an outline, let alone clear.
All that is left is the fertile void of the in-between.
Invisible.
Pregnant.
There is no ultrasound for life’s transitions in which to see the form taking shape.
Faith is the lifeblood that feeds the embryonic beginnings.
The umbilical cord of the past not yet cut.
The time is not — yet.
Delivery awaits and preparations made to welcome the new childthe infant expressions of newnessafter nearly a half-century of incubation!
Oh what joy the wails of arrival will bring!”David often spoke of the power of transitions—not as something to rush through, but as a space of deep creativity and rebirth. He called it the fertile void—that rich and quiet emptiness where something new is incubating, even if we cannot yet see its form.
In the days since his passing, I have found myself living in that void. No longer clinging to what was, and not yet stepping into what will be. It is a liminal space. One that feels both tender and profound. Other times, it hums with the possibility of something beautiful not yet born.
And so, I ask you, dear reader:
What do you focus on during a pause? When life delivers change—wanted or unwanted—how do you meet the transition?Do you rush to fill the space, to know what’s next?
Or can you pause, trust, and rest in the unknown.
This line in David’s poem is a stunning image:
“Delivery awaits and preparations made to welcome the new child—The infant expressions of newness after nearly a half-century of incubations.
Oh, what joy the wails of arrival will bring!”
He wrote those lines almost two years to the day before he had the sudden epiphany that led to the TED* framework. Even now, as we grieve, I see that David’s work—this global movement of empowerment and Creator-consciousness—is preparing to birth something new. For nearly 50 years, he incubated a body of work that has already touched hundreds of thousands. And now, in his absence, there is a kind of holy hush… a gestation of what comes next.
As the leader of our organization, I am choosing to listen, to rest, and trust instead of rushing into action. I am honoring the pause as a creative act in and of itself. We have a few programs and classes planned for the next few months but not at this time offering anything new.
Spring doesn’t arrive because we demand it. Seeds planted in the soil do not sprout overnight. There is a sacred waiting—where nothing appears to be happening, and yet everything is.
“Faith is the lifeblood that feeds the embryonic beginnings.”
I believe many of you reading are also standing at thresholds—feeling the stirrings of change, perhaps not knowing what’s next. I offer this blog as an invitation:
- Can you allow the pause?
- Can you rest in the fertile void? Where uncertainty is the new norm.
- Can you focus not on the discomfort of not-knowing, but on the trust that something is taking shape… even if unseen?
I ask you to join me in this sacred pause. To share this space with me as we rest, reflect, and listen for what’s next. And to nurture, with me, the invisible stirrings of what is to come.
As the leader of the Center for The Empowerment Dynamic, I will continue to share each week, new offerings, new insights, and new expressions of this life-giving work in the months to come.
But for now… let us bless this holy pause. Until next time, here’s to the Creator in you.Donna