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We have an interesting relationship
When I’m out clearing snow and ice from our sidewalk, I think about my relationship with my friend the Sun. In cases like that it’s cooperative. I clear what ice I can with my shovel, and she melts as much of the rest as she can in the limited time that the Earth allows her each day. I’m thankful for the Sun’s help, but I’m fairly certain that she isn’t aware of mine.
At other times, when it’s too hot in summer, I use shade to protect myself, and some plants in our yard, from effects of the Sun’s steady rays. I know she means well, but sometimes she comes on too strong.
I respect the Sun for being so reliable and often so helpful, and I don’t expect respect in return. She is powerful, but she lacks the sensory organs and cognitive abilities to model my complex but tiny existence.
The relationship between us humans and our gods has usually been rather asymmetrical, but at least in our relationship with the Sun, she has been less fickle than many, like her subordinate gods the Wind and the Rain.
