I should clarify my position on all this a bit.
In light of Jamshyd's posts. I could definitely live with eternal extinction after this life, if I were fairly sure that this was the best possible alternative, and that I had earned it, a la Buddhists and Hindus reaching nirvana and escaping the cycle of samsara. In other words, if extinction were a result of this life of mine having inherent meaning, and my lack of afterlife were part of a greater plan, then that's fine. I see a world of difference, however, between this and facing certain extinction because I've decided this life is a random accident devoid of inherent meaning or plan.
TheAppleCore, I don't really see any contradiction between being a goal and purpose driven person, and either valuing this life or living in the present moment. I can buy a ticket for a slow boat to China, and both enjoy myself on the cruise AND look forward to docking in Shanghai, no?
Materialists / naturalists waxing poetic about how the lack of a forelife, afterlife, or cosmic plan makes this one life more valuable, always gave me the same kind of feeling as getting handed a consolation prize, or falling for a bait-and-switch. I get the logical flow of the argument and wasn't asking for clarification, so please, don't try to reword it and sell it to me again, anyone. I'm just stating that it never 'scratched the itch' for me.