As I was drifting off to sleep last night, my tics were having their regular chat with the lamp-post outside my window. But unusually, rather than telling it off, they were asking it for wisdom. This got me thinking about the lamp-post as a lifestyle guru. It was an idea I couldn’t shake off so I gave up trying to sleep and started to write the imagined musings of my lamp-post – over to you, wise lamp.

I’m an enlightened post
Glowing with the cool light of local authority bulbs

Casting arcs of illumination on dark tarmac,
An authority on dog wee and shadows

Here are my lessons:

Be a beacon,
Light the way so others can choose their path.

It’s ok to switch off,
But don’t dim yourself.

Be a node in a web of radiance,
Hold space with grace,

Let light catch in the cracks so you can find their edges.
Throw shapes, not shade.

Embrace radiance.

Thinking about the lamp-post’s view of the world and what it might have learnt felt unexpectedly calming.

My lamp-post check in is a ritual started by my tics but very much enjoyed and valued by me.