--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you see a parent pass, and you…" description: "\"When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png" --- # When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there… ![“When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for what it really is.” quote by Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png) > “When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for what it really is.” [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing a loved one's death forces confronting life's true meaning. **In simple terms:** Death reveals life's essence. Key Takeaway Cherish moments, speak openly. Themes mortality family meaning Mood somber introspective Type personal emotional When to use this quote - hospital bedside - grief counseling - family gatherings - end‑of‑life care Key Concepts existential reflection emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - What does this experience teach about priorities? - How can we support others in such moments? A Different Perspective Grief may cloud clarity, making meaning hard to grasp. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deathbed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deathbed/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) [Parent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parent/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [“Life…Isn't a roller coaster, it isn't unexpected or surprising. It's not a free ticket to go along for the ride... Simply put, Life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilal-hussain/life-isn-t-a-roller-coaster-it-isn-t-unexpected-or-surprising-it-s/) Bilal Hussain > [“For me, death is the one appalling fact which defines life; unless you are constantly aware of it, you cannot begin to understand what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/for-me-death-is-the-one-appalling-fact-which-defines-life-unless-you/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [ “DESTRUCTION: Our sister \[Death\] defines life, just as Despair defines hope, or Desire defines hatred, or as Destiny defines freedom. 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Our attitude defines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anmol-andore/life-is-best-for-those-who-enjoy-it-difficult-for-those-who-analyze/) [Anmol Andore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anmol-andore/) > [If you have no brothers and sisters it defines you for life; even when you're thirty you refer to yourself as an only child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/if-you-have-no-brothers-and-sisters-it-defines-you-for-life-even-when/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [“Awkwardness defines my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-robbins/awkwardness-defines-my-life/) [Alexandra Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-robbins/) > [I wanted to be a rock 'n' roll star. It defines life for me. It's all I've ever imagined for myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-lynne/i-wanted-to-be-a-rock-n-roll-star-it-defines-life-for-me-it-s-all-i/) [Shelby Lynne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-lynne/) > [It's up to each of us to get very still and say, 'This is who I am.' No one else defines your life. Only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/it-s-up-to-each-of-us-to-get-very-still-and-say-this-is-who-i-am-no/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [Life is not a continuous process, there's some sort of finite number of achievements that defines your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/life-is-not-a-continuous-process-there-s-some-sort-of-finite-number/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [In the end, its not what you have been through that matters; its how you got through it that defines your life and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-the-end-its-not-what-you-have-been-through-that-matters-its-how/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is best for those who are enjoying it. Difficult for those who are analyzing it and worse for those who are criticizing it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-best-for-those-who-are-enjoying-it-difficult-for-those-who-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is best for those who are enjoying it,Difficult for those who are analyzing it & worst for those who are criticizing it.Our attitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/life-is-best-for-those-who-are-enjoying-it-difficult-for-those-who/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Energy defines life not flesh and blood. WE are infinite energies experiencing infinity. Through a finite aperture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/energy-defines-life-not-flesh-and-blood-we-are-infinite-energies/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [Who do you love? It's a question anyone should be able to answer. A question that defines a life, creates a future, guides most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/who-do-you-love-it-s-a-question-anyone-should-be-able-to-answer-a/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) ## More by Viola Davis > [I look back at pictures of myself and I remember thinking, "I was so fat when I was growing up. I was 165 pounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-look-back-at-pictures-of-myself-and-i-remember-thinking-i-was-so/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am not a glam woman - this definitely is a mask I put on for the public.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-not-a-glam-woman-this-definitely-is-a-mask-i-put-on-for-the/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I was bullied at school. The black girl in Central Falls, Rhode Island, in 1973. There'd be 8 or 10 boys; I would count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-was-bullied-at-school-the-black-girl-in-central-falls-rhode-island/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's why there's so much bad acting out there, because you could see actors watching themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-why-there-s-so-much-bad-acting-out-there-because-you-could-see/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I want my work to reflect my level of gifts and talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-want-my-work-to-reflect-my-level-of-gifts-and-talent/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I don’t want anyone putting any limits on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-don-t-want-anyone-putting-any-limits-on-me/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ I think that's why August \[Wilson\] named her Rose \[in "Fences"\]; I really do. She's a rose in her sweetness and her kindness and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-think-that-s-why-august-wilson-named-her-rose-in-fences-i-really-do/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-re-working-as-an-actor-you-don-t-think-that-when-you-get-out/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I suffered from low self-esteem for much of my life. And now to feel like maybe something that I'm projecting or saying could mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-suffered-from-low-self-esteem-for-much-of-my-life-and-now-to-feel/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I tell my daughter every morning, 'Now, what are the two most important parts of you?' And she says, 'My head and my heart.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-tell-my-daughter-every-morning-now-what-are-the-two-most-important/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I started a production company out of necessity, the need for great narratives for actors of color.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-started-a-production-company-out-of-necessity-the-need-for-great/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [That's always the biggest surprise when people meet me: how buoyant I am and how fun and light I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/that-s-always-the-biggest-surprise-when-people-meet-me-how-buoyant-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [When you're working as an actor, you don't think that when you get out of school, it's going to be so hard to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-re-working-as-an-actor-you-don-t-think-that-when-you-get-out-2/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [ It was hard, that confrontation scene \[in "Fences"\], that was a hard one. I felt like it was relentless, I never felt like I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/it-was-hard-that-confrontation-scene-in-fences-that-was-a-hard-one-i/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I am addicted to any facial product that's anti-aging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-am-addicted-to-any-facial-product-that-s-anti-aging/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) [Explore all 279 Viola Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) ## More Deathbed quotes > [“I shall stay here as long as I may, I don't want to think — I needn't think. I don't care for anything but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/i-shall-stay-here-as-long-as-i-may-i-don-t-want-to-think-i-needn-t/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [When I'm on my deathbed, I'll hopefully be able to count more friends than parts that I had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-lea/when-i-m-on-my-deathbed-i-ll-hopefully-be-able-to-count-more-friends/) [Nicholas Lea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-lea/) > [And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/and-i-hope-that-you-die-and-your-death-ll-come-soon-i-will-follow/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I do seem to favor a deathbed confession as the occasion for my dramatic monologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-seem-to-favor-a-deathbed-confession-as-the-occasion-for-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I feel nothing, apart from a certain difficulty in continuing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/i-feel-nothing-apart-from-a-certain-difficulty-in-continuing-to-exist/) [Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-le-bovier-de-fontenelle/) > [When we die our money, fame, and honors will be meaningless. We own nothing in this world. Everything we think we own is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/when-we-die-our-money-fame-and-honors-will-be-meaningless-we-own/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) > [There's a little book I'm thinking of writing - "Swan Song" is what I shall call it. The song of the dying. And my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxim-gorky/there-s-a-little-book-i-m-thinking-of-writing-swan-song-is-what-i/) [Maxim Gorky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxim-gorky/) > [At the end of our life, we ought to be able to look back over it from our deathbed and know somehow the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-ehrmann/at-the-end-of-our-life-we-ought-to-be-able-to-look-back-over-it-from/) [Joe Ehrmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-ehrmann/) > [W. C. Fields, a lifetime agnostic, was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed. ''I'm looking for a loop-hole,'' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/w-c-fields-a-lifetime-agnostic-was-discovered-reading-a-bible-on-his/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [“Prologue   May 24th, 1543 Frombork, Poland 1015 hours   The man lay on his deathbed waiting for the sweet release into nothingness. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-pauletti/prologue-may-24th-1543-frombork-poland-1015-hours-the-man-lay-on-his/) Vincent Pauletti > [“Many people don’t realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that no thing ever had anything to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/many-people-don-t-realize-until-they-are-on-their-deathbed-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“When i'm 58 years old and on my deathbed, i'd better see through my one good eye Matt drawing a donger on my forehead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-zdarsky/when-i-m-58-years-old-and-on-my-deathbed-i-d-better-see-through-my/) Chip Zdarsky > [“And just as in life, if a man imagines himself on his deathbed and then works back through the years of his life, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/and-just-as-in-life-if-a-man-imagines-himself-on-his-deathbed-and/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [“...nothing more excruciating when you are fighting for your life than to have healthy people round you, squabbling over futilities. Who do you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-p/nothing-more-excruciating-when-you-are-fighting-for-your-life-than-to/) A.P > [“Obitus vitae otium est (Death is life's rest).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-junger/obitus-vitae-otium-est-death-is-life-s-rest/) [Ernst Jünger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-junger/) [Browse all 168 Deathbed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deathbed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you have to tell them to go, it defines life for what it really is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Viola Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-literally-are-there-and-you-re/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deathbed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-literally-are-there-and-you-re/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6f/viola-davis-1174_deathbed_when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-liter_527594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you see a parent pass, and you literally are there, and you're sitting at that deathbed, man, and you…” — Viola Davis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Viola Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you see a parent pass,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-literally-are-there-and-you-re/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/when-you-see-a-parent-pass-and-you-literally-are-there-and-you-re/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```