I'm not talking just about the moment of death, though. I'm talking about the existential condition of our mortality. We can either keep the cosmic perspective in view in life, or immerse ourselves in trivia, distractions, and the particular, mundane problems we face. What I'm trying to get at here is that the test of anything's sacred merit applies that big-picture perspective (the death bed scenario) which emphasizes our mortality, however that perspective might be filtered through philosophy or religion.