Advent Week One: Welcoming the Darkness, Inviting the Joy.
Advent begins in darkness —
the earliest sunsets, the quiet earth, the inward turn.
Inside us, too, Advent begins in the messy, the untended, the parts we usually rush past.
But this year, instead of trying to fix the dark side of ourselves or fight it…
What if we could turn toward it — gently, warmly, with a hint of cheerfulness.
Darkness is simply the unorganized, untended, unloved parts of life — not failures.
When we greet our darkness with warmth instead of fear, it becomes a doorway to joy.
This is the heart of Week One of Advent.
My Shadow
The Creative Mess
The Other Side
The Perfectionist’s Darkness
My home has been a “creative clutter” for years — piles, projects, inspiration everywhere.
For a long time, I believed this mess meant something was wrong with me.
But this year I stopped fighting the mess and started greeting it with warmth.
Not fixing — just noticing.
And something softened.
My space began clearing itself.
Not out of pressure… but out of love.
For every person drowning in clutter,
there is someone drowning in the need to perfect.
The spotless home.
The perfect table.
The constant managing.
That is its own darkness —
tight, exhausting, relentless.
So if you are on this side, Week One invites something radical:
Leave one thing undone.
Let the house be human.
Rest anyway.
Just like clutter isn’t a failure, neither is imperfection.
Both paths — loving the mess or softening the perfection — lead to the same doorway:
joy hidden within the dark.
“Where the Light Comes Down” — Carrie Newcomer
This is your companion for Week One —
a song about light entering gently, tenderly, through the dark.
This week is not about singing beautifully.
It is about receiving, listening, letting the sound move you.
I invite you to listen in stillness, hum softly, or sway.
Let the music touch you in some way.
If this song doesn’t speak to you, then choose your own song.
Ask Yourself
What does this song awaken in me?
Is it trying to show me something?
Is there a story rising in me as I listen?
Questions to Carry Through the Week
What small dark corner of my life is asking for gentleness?
What happens if I meet it with cheerfulness instead of fear?
Where is joy trying to rise quietly this week?
A Blessing for Week One
May you find the courage
to turn gently toward your dark corners.
May you greet what you find there
with warmth instead of judgment.
May your shadows soften
in the presence of your kindness.
And may a small spark of joy —
quiet, playful, surprising —
rise up to meet you
in this first week of Advent.
Written by Shannon Boyce, musician and founder of A Supple Voice.
May this Advent offering support you in finding presence, gentleness, and small sparks of joy.
