Transition from life to death has always been a mystery for the mankind. What is there, on the other side? For centuries writers and philosophers, clerics and scientists are trying to find the answer to this question. A lot of books, monographs and philosophical treatises have been written on this theme. However the number of it is absolutely incomparable with the amount of articles, essays and Internet posts written on this subject in our days. The biggest part of it is written by non-professional authors, by amateur philosophers and sometimes even by insane people. And very often it can be quite hard to single out really interesting and useful texts from this ocean of information. So, how can we define if this death essay is good or not? What aspects should we pay attention to writing this kind of essay?

I have dared to define three main aspects that have to be presented in a death essay. The first one is personal opinion, the second one is religious tolerance, the third one is positive mood. Let’s try to consider all three of them.

So, the fist one is personal opinion.

In death essay (just as in all other kinds of essays) an author has to give voice to his own and no one else’s opinion. Death is such an intimate theme that any generalizations are absolutely inappropriate. Especially considering that fact that in different ages human attitude to death, even for the same person, differs. So, even if you are a part of community this absolutely doesn`t mean that you have right to speak from all members of this community. The exception might be only if you speak on behalf of some kind of religious communities. This is the point at which we smoothly pass to the second aspect.

The second aspect is religious tolerance.

In our time of the clash of civilizations when religious conflicts become sharper, even the smallest “spark” could cause a real “fire storm”. The attitude to death and afterlife could be that kind of spark. Personal controversy on religious theme at some Internet forum can easily grow into an aggressive confrontation with a lot of people involved in it. And this confrontation can lead to unexpected and irreparable consequences. The author must realize his responsibility and be extremely careful in his or her statements, especially having lack of competence in this kind of questions.

But at the same time the author must not forget about one of the most important achievements of modern society – freedom of worship. The possibility of having a religious conflict doesn’t mean that you have to refuse your point of view. But you surely need to have some inner barrier to show you where you have to stop.

Finally, the third aspect is positive mood.

In human consciousness death is something grim and dark. That automatically means that all kinds of talks about death (no matter, if it is an Internet essay or Discovery Channel film) would also have unpleasant air. And here comes the hardest part – the author must avoid all negative colors in his death essay. The text must not provoke in persons reading it any gloomy feelings of inevitability. It must inspire one with confidence, cause composure and aspiration for living. To reach this goal the essayist must use all his literary talent.

Summing up all the above said I’d like to cite a quotation of one famous Russian poet: “Death is worth leaving, love is worth waiting”. Love your life and don`t be afraid of death and especially writing about it.