Are we primarily valued in a relationship or by a group because of what we contribute to it? Of course, this is not rocket-science folks, right?
But, there are times when it feels like we are not valued, IF we don't contribute.
There is merit to the idea of everyone doing their part to help in a relationship, a group, a team, etc. Certainly; where would we be without such things as mutuality?
On the other hand, at times, it also seems easy to see that if you don't keep up your 'contribution', your value (to whatever the entity is) seems to go down. And, from that angle, sometimes it is clear that this is a rather awful basis for things to run on because it inadvertently (perhaps?) leads to unstated things like: "we don't really like you for who you are, we just like you for what you do for us (our group)"...or, more personally, "I don't like you so much, but I do appreciate what you do for me".
An unfortunate irony is that, as long as you keep contributing, true value can go on unacknowledged for some time in a group.
