Talking about death is difficult. Complex, conflicting feelings, denial. Although, while grieving for others, we theoretically understand that this fate awaits us too. Are we ready? We don’t know the time, the place, or the condition. What if they knew? Let's assume we die in two weeks. What will you do during these 14 days?...In his story with the same name, priest Andrei Tkachev, quite sharply but sincerely, trying to convince his interlocutor to think about death and the meaning of life, argues: “For example, I don’t want to die in the city . Dirt, dust, vanity. In many high-rise buildings there is not even a freight elevator. If you die on the ninth floor, they will torture you to demolish you. Then, the cemeteries will take you for half a day in a funeral bus, they will stand in traffic jams, they will growl with the clutch and squeal. brakes. And there will be no silence or tenderness in this phantasmagoria. As a hint of stinking life, death will be shrouded in exhaust gases. Don’t make a face and don’t slip off the topic. If not me, then who will talk to you about this? it is necessary to speak to death. Even the master of grave affairs, Bezenchuk, who was drunk in the morning, had many names for death. Since people live differently, he thought, it means that they die differently. Some “order to live long,” others “rest in peace.” , the third “fingers stick together” and so on. “Bended,” “ended,” “closed his eyes.” Still better than just “died.” This is somehow completely bestial. Do you want to “die”, or “become dead”, or “give your soul to God”? For example, I want to “put to rest.” And I need trees to grow near the grave or flowers around. Still, it looks like heaven. Angels will come for your soul, they will come, dear ones. They will come crying, because their ward lived badly. He lived small, without flight, without real joy. He lived like a worm, digging and digging cunning passages in the pitchless darkness. So I dug through it. In fact, I didn’t live at all. Is this life when before death there is nothing to remember, and relatives, except for “how much vodka to put on the table” and “how many wreaths to order,” will not think about anything else? It will be scary to look at yourself from the outside. They wash you, and you look at them from the side. They stuff your stiff arms into a new shirt, tie a tie on you, put on new shoes, and you watch. It's even funny. Look how the shoes shine. I never wore such clean clothes when I was born. I would have laughed if it weren’t for the Angels behind me and these... a little further away. These will come, you know? You understand, your sheep's eyes, these will come! Those who until now only communicated with you through thoughts. They whispered, and you did nasty things; you sinned, and they lulled your conscience. Wow, they are scary! That's when you start praying. Although unlikely. You won't start. It's too late to start there. There you can only continue what you started on earth. Have you seen Munch’s painting? It's called "Scream". So souls scream in fear. God forbid, you will scream like that when you feel your damnation and see these people. The worst thing is that at this time it will be difficult for you to put on a jacket and all the thoughts of your relatives will revolve around the costs of the funeral and wake. Again, what time of year it will be is unknown. In the summer it’s scary that you’ll swell from the heat. Flies, the stench... You have to fast in order to die dry. There is no need for the worms to have a feast. In winter it’s chilly to lie down in the cold ground. And it’s hard to dig a grave. It’s better, of course, in the spring, but not early, when there is slush, but after Easter. If you die on Easter, then even over the coffin, instead of a simple requiem, they will sing solemnly, cheerfully... “May God rise again, and His enemies will be scattered. Easter, a sacred one, is being shown to us today: Easter is a new holy... " Beauty. I want to live an eternal life!” You need to think about death. But it is important to distinguish between two concepts: “Thanatophobia” - a pathological fear of death; the exact opposite of this is “Mortal Memory”. Mortal memory forces a person not to “run away” from death, but to make life such that in which it is not scary to live and after which it is not scary to die. Such a presence of death in the mind inspires a person to be grateful for everything that he receives from life. It “teaches us not.".