I had never looked closely for a long period at a dying person. I had never listened to the strained breathing of a body barely functioning and had never put my head beside a man too weak to speak, smelled his pungent breath and silently shared his day in, day out view of the white popcorn ceiling. It was when I put the camera down and became present that I could feel my fears melting away.

With this deeper but calm proximity to death’s physical attributes, I contemplated my parents’ current and serious health concerns, as well as my own mortality. My consciousness became richer for it….We could use news of a good death. Not a tragic death or a famous death, just a good one, the kind that might happen to any of us if we are lucky.

Link