Invite Me Anyway

 

I know I might say no. You probably know it too.

There will be times when you invite me somewhere and I'll decline. Maybe I'll say I'm tired. Maybe I'll say I don't feel like going. Maybe I'll simply stay home. And that's okay.

But please— invite me anyway.

Not because I want you to convince me. Not because I want you to keep asking until I eventually say yes. Just because I want to know that you thought of me.

That's the part I don't always know how to explain. I don't want to turn my friends into people who feel obligated to invite me. Because then the invitation wouldn't feel genuine anymore. It would feel like something they have to do because I told them to. And that's not what I want.

I just want the little reminder that somewhere in your plans, I crossed your mind. Even if I don't come. Even if I say no. Even if I spend the evening at home.

I think there is something comforting about knowing there was a place for you. Sometimes we don't need to take the seat. Sometimes it is enough to know someone left one open.

Maybe that's what an invitation really means to me. Not come with us. But: We remembered you. We wanted you there. There is still a place for you if you change your mind.

And maybe I'll still say no. But I'll smile when I see the invitation. Because for a moment, I'll know I was thought of.

— ◇ —

A Note on the Painting
Gintong Pawis (Bayanihan)
Robert Ko, 1989

What I saw in it: people making room for one another, reminding me that sometimes belonging begins with simply being included.

https://www.feu.edu.ph/feu-art-collection/gintong-pawis-bayanihan/