Mr. Tammeus, your phrase "slapping me upside the head" reminded me of our way of disciplining our beloved Wheaton Terrier: lightly tapping him under the chin: he hated it; it didn't hurt in the least; it always had the desired effect, and he had nothing to hold a grudge for, nor we any guilt.
Consider yourself once again slapped "upside the head".
I vaguely recall that it was F.Dostoevsky who coined the phrase about death focusing the mind after a firing squad was halted at the last moment. 
Point being it really means 'being in the moment', the "moment" continues to roll out for the rest of the refocused life, a life on a higher plane.  Your reflection is saved, at the last moment by the brief but redeeming phrase: "...we are not without the means to matter...", and even then you leave us hanging, as if "grace" were all-sufficient. We need to stand; legitimate the young; defend truth; defy hate; diminution, exclusion, lies. We need to think, explain, write, applaud...single malt....