Learning how to think about death changed how I live

Viewing death as unrelated to life, or antithetical it, does a disservice to the days we have, because we don't know how to value them, says John Leland. The journalist and author explains...

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JUDY WOODRUFF: New York Times reporter John Leland began following a group of men andwomen in 2015 who ranged in age from 87 to 92.What he learned shattered his expectations about aging and death, as he explains in hisHumble Opinion.JOHN LELAND, The New York Times: People are always telling us to live each day as if it'sour last, but we don't really do it, and for two good reasons.The first is that, if you really thought today was your last day, you wouldn't pay the utilitybill or save for retirement, and, before you know it, you're in the dark warming a canof beans over an open flame.And the second reason is that we don't like to think about death or dying, except as somethingthat happens to other people.A few years ago, I met a m...