Being missed means you left a shape behind. That’s a good sign about how you’ve been living.

Missing someone is a measure of the space they took up. If people feel your absence, you were doing something real while you were around: turning up, making things funnier, being counted on. Nobody misses a person who was only technically present. The ache on their end is evidence about how you have been spending your time.

If somebody told you recently that they missed you, take it seriously instead of brushing it off. And when you are the one missing people, say so plainly. Most never find out they mattered, because everyone assumed it was obvious.