Intrinsic value

My yoga teacher's comments about all of us having intrinsic value are something I think all Orthodox would agree with. The term may be more useful than the "sanctity of life," which turns off all of those who don't have a sense of the holy, who are the people who create this culture of utility. This world we inhabit makes it very hard to believe we have any value apart from what we produce. Is that a function of capitalism? To a great extent, yes. The need to sell us something makes sellers point out our inadequacies, whether physical or that more ephemeral lack of "success." Orthodoxy also makes us aware of a lack: a lack of holiness, a failure to be the persons Christ intended us to be. The remedy is the Mysteries, received prayerfully. I am just starting to see how the prayers that seemed almost ridiculously self-abasing when I first began to read them are actually pointing us to God's great love for our unique selves, created to be shining saints.