The Devotion Practice: Equal Attention as Discipline

Rabia's form of devotion was not passive admiration but rigorous spiritual practice—a training of heart and attention. This concept adapts that framework into a concrete discipline for counteracting favoritism. The practice involves systematically noticing whom we neglect, whose voices we interrupt, whose ideas we dismiss, and whose needs we deprioritize. It requires intentional redirect: speaking to the quiet person in the room, asking for input from those outside the inner circle, allocating resources without favoritism as the default. This is not performative inclusion but genuine cultivation of attention. The discipline works because favoritism often operates below consciousness—we default to proximity, similarity, and established preference without examining it. Rabia's legacy emphasizes that transformation requires practice, not just intention. Parents might institute a practice of one-on-one time with each child specifically to counter the gravitational pull toward a favorite. Leaders might implement structured processes to surface overlooked voices. Communities might rotate who holds attention and resources. The cost of neglecting this practice is the calcification of patterns; the benefit is the rewiring of how we distribute care. This transforms belonging from accident of preference into a cultivated practice of radical inclusion.