Radical Availability to the Other

Rabia was known for her radical availability: she gave herself completely to whoever came before her, whether a prince or a servant. She did not mentally rank people by importance or decide some were worth her full attention while others merited only distracted politeness. This practice of radical availability directly undermines favoritism. When we offer our genuine presence to all people equally, we dismantle the hierarchy of whose concerns matter. Favoritism thrives in the space between full attention and dismissal; we give our best self to those we favor and a diminished self to others. Radical availability means bringing the same depth of presence, curiosity, and respect to each person. This is not sentimental or naive; Rabia maintained clear boundaries and did not pretend all relationships were identical. Rather, she offered genuine attention within the shape of each relationship. This practice reveals something profound: most of our sense that certain people are more worthy of our care comes not from genuine perception but from habit, fear, or social conditioning. When we practice radical availability, we often discover that people we were inclined to dismiss contain depths we never noticed.