I think some of the things that kept me alive this long are having good parents who raised me right, a love of nature and hiking and climbing. And my children are a big part of my life being as good as it is still at age 75.
When I trace my lineage back to 1580 in Switzerland I find families in my lineage had usually 5 to 10 kids unbroken until my grandfather had 5 children from 1912 to the early 1920s. Then most people (my cousins and parents never had more than 2 to 3 children each and I also followed this changing world pattern with 3 biological children and 2 adopted children along the way and I am now a grandfather of two boys as well.
So, what has kept me alive the most?
The Wildness of Nature and my children and Grandchildren.
These I think are the best reasons to stay alive from my experience.
Living just for myself never really made a lot of sense to me.
But, living to help others always did make sense to me.
