Dance for the Sun

My neighbors are from Fiji and of Indian descent. They are a wonderful family, the grandparents, twin daughters, one living with them with her daughter, the other living just a few blocks away with her husband and two sons, and a lot of family very close by. (And I benefit from the most incredibly wonderful cooking smells coming from their house!)
Often on sunny mornings I'll see the grandmother walk out to the driveway and pray facing east.
As I sit at the table eating my breakfast this always makes me smile. (Forgive the horrible photo, I was trying to do it quick so as to not be caught.) This morning I felt especially warmed to see her do this, as I noticed she was holding marigold heads in her hands as she prayed. I've been thinking a lot about this lately, how the sun plays into the lives of various people in various belief systems.
All of this made me start to think how various religions around the world all interact with each other in such similar ways. East is the direction of Mecca but it's also the direction of the rising sun and Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It is the cradle of civilization and the direction of the Sun. I have friends who are Muslim, Christian, Wiccan, Buddhist, Jewish, nothing, and other things, and the sun and the east seem to be some of the commonalities in their lives. Add to that the general desire to honor and respect others, often worship of a higher spirit or acestor spirits, and we have a similar yet diverse global religion. It only becomes a problem when people start to close their minds and say "No you're doing it wrong, this is the only way..." How can anyone say that my neighbor, with flowers in her hands facing a bright morning sun, praying to her personal god is incorrect? They cannot any more than they can say that someone saying a Summer solstice prayer to the great spirit or kneeling in a Church and praying to their God is wrong.

I recently found a CD at the library called "Dance for the Sun" by Kira Willey that is all yoga songs for kids. One of the first songs I heard from it is for the Yoga series called "Sun Salutation" and it's called "Dance for the Sun." I copied it for 3 of my friends in addition to myself! I think one may be Buddhist, one is Mormon, and one is Wiccan. Yet all 3 of these women have this in common- understanding, patience, global sympathy and open minds, as well as a love for the sun and an appreciation for Yoga. I hope that my child will love this music and we do the Sun Salutation and remember how generous the earth is and how fortunate we are to be here, and the love we have both for others around us, as well as the love we receive from others around us.

Namaste