By Tim Porteus

I HAVE a term: the ‘upside down sky’. I use this phrase to describe the spectacle of street lights at night when viewed from a vantage point.

One of the best places in East Lothian to view the ‘upside down sky’ is from the road by Fa’side Castle. This vantage point gives you views over Wallyford, Musselburgh, Portobello and Edinburgh beyond.

These urban areas create a sea of lights which look like a sky full of bright stars, except, of course, it’s ‘upside down’ and they’re not really stars. But it looks spectacular in its own way. In fact, views with bright city lights are these days often considered tourist attractions.

But I’ve recently realised something: while the ‘stars’ of the ‘upside down sky’ are getting more numerous and extensive every year, the real stars in the actual sky are becoming more difficult to see; at least where I live.

Literally thousands upon thousands of houses are being built in the western part of our county. Much of the rural landscape in this part of East Lothian, which I knew when I was a child, is going fast.

Most of me understands and accepts the needs for this, but a part feels sad at the loss of a recognisable landscape. And already I have noticed that a by-product of this has been increased light pollution in areas close to where I live. It is going to get much more noticeable as more development takes place.

I know many people will say there are many more things to think about, especially in late January, when the Christmas turkey is coming home to roost and all those bills have to be paid at a time when we are already financially drained from festive expenditure, and stressed out. Thank goodness for Burns suppers, a highlight of a month that often seems both the darkest and longest of the year.

But this is all the more reason to pause. When was the last time you really had the opportunity to sit under a dark night sky full of visible stars? This is one of nature’s free gifts and stargazing has real benefits for our mental health and emotional wellbeing.

I remember some years ago, when visiting a friend in a very rural part of Scotland, I went out to put something in the bin. My friend came out to see if I was OK, as I hadn’t returned after 15 minutes. I had been struck by the beauty and power of the starlit sky, unpolluted by city lights. Without noticing the time, I had sat just gazing at the universe above me.

I can remember the sense of awe and peace it created. Sure, part of it was also the quiet and stillness in that area, but sitting under the canopy of stars is what overwhelmed me in that moment.

It’s an experience fewer of us can enjoy because of the increase in light pollution, but also noise and general busyness all around us. So we often don’t even realise what we’re missing. Perhaps there is a cause and effect here: the less you notice the absence of something, the less you think it’s important or relevant.

Our ancient ancestors understood its power. But I think we have lost the sense. I recently asked a group of young people how many of them had sat under the stars and just gazed and wondered at them. Sadly, none had done so, and some thought the idea “weird”. I think a lot of adults would share that opinion.

But taking time to sit and really wonder at an unpolluted night sky can fill us with awe, as I experienced that evening at my friend’s house. It makes us feel small and in so doing it puts our worries and anxieties in perspective. It can promote inner peace and calm.

For sure, the bills won’t go away; neither will the stress at work or whatever is dominating your thoughts most of the day. But in taking time to pause and wonder at the vast and almost timeless beauty of the stars, your soul gets time to catch up. It can help you see things differently, in a more creative way. It’s a form of meditation with something bigger than we can imagine, but also something incredibly beautiful.

And it’s fascinating, as you try to identify the different constellations, and perhaps realise how much you don’t know or have forgotten. Could you identify the northern star, and what constellations can you see? Sailors in days of old were experts at identifying the stars to aid direction, but I’m sure they also marvelled at the unhindered beauty and mystery of them as well.

There are still many places in our county where we can be wrapped in star-lit darkness. But as the ‘upside down sky’ gets bigger and brighter, the real stars are fading in so many places.

The real shame is, as the stars disappear from our sight, they may disappear from our consciousness as well.

Let’s not let that happen. Let us gift our children, and ourselves, with the noticing and gazing at the real stars in our sky and somehow find the time, even briefly, to stargaze.