Valuing People for Themselves

  During the meditation team meeting today, we explored this ongoing question of what it means to use meditation to coordinate and lead. I think one of the interesting disconnects I observe in this matter is how meditation is viewed as something passive that is done completely in solitude, while coordinating group activities is considered social and somehow related to achieving a goal. It is interesting because people (including myself ) tend to feel more comfortable when they are actively contributing in an obvious way to a particular activity. But I sometimes wonder whether it's possible for a person to feel they are contributing with just being present and using a method of practice at every moment. I believe it's possible, but it is hard to do in social situations.
    From a theoretical perspective, I would have to say that 'being able to contribute' and feel useful is based on a sense of self. Perhaps it even has to do with the idea of the body having a certain reach and being able to extend itself to do valuable things--or at least what is deemed 'important' by the society. But I wonder, why is 'just being' not equally celebrated? I think the reason is that contributing somehow in a positive way that gets feedback is sometimes seen as having a greater purpose than simply being a participant. In fact, however, one can never contribute all the time, and there are moments when people are neither giving nor receiving in an obvious way.
    Meditation offers a unique opportunity to reverse the tendency to overvalue productivity and undervalue being present. It allows people to arouse a natural and steady gratitude to all that is happening in their lives. But group meditation practice can foster that through a mutual appreciation of people's being. Well, to use an example: have you ever noticed that people are often valued not for who they are but for whether they provide some service for others? What would the world be like if people truly valued each other or took the time to see people on their own terms--rather than valuing them for what they are perceived as doing? It's interesting that this shifts things away from measuring people according to external results. Instead, a person's unique soul and being are valued in that moment. Instead of valuing an externally produced commodity that is produced by people, it's the person's uniqueness that is valued. Could meditation and the culture of mutual presence and interbeing create a shift in the way that people are viewed? And I wonder, what would that mean for the greater society--to be valued for one's own sake and being rather than for what one produces?