How do I build genuine community that isn't based on what I can do for others?

Rabia's love wasn't transactional—she loved God not for reward or fear, but purely. That same principle transforms community. Real belonging happens when people stay present with you whether you're useful or not. It means showing up tired. It means being known in your messiness, not just your strengths. Start by asking: Who do I trust enough to be ordinary around? Where do I pretend less? Those are your real communities, even if they're small. Then actively deepen them. Share something vulnerable. Ask for help you actually need. Listen to people's real problems, not just their highlight reels. Build rituals—a weekly call, a shared meal, a text group where it's okay to admit struggle. Community isn't found; it's cultivated through small, repeated acts of showing up. And here's what matters: you're building it *for* itself, not for what it produces. You're not networking or building your brand. You're practicing what Rabia practiced—love without expecting return. That's when belonging becomes real, and paradoxically, that's when it actually sustains you.