I was not dying, but I thought I was...This is how I placated my fear

[angstlessk]

I thought how ants and bees easily give their lives for their nest mates

because of the genetics...and that it is genes that matter not the body.

I thought about how I was the result of every ancestor who did not die before they gave birth, for millennia...how lucky was I to even exist? And my genes will live on, through my son, my parents, their brothers, sisters and all their children.

That somehow gave me peace.

We do live on..in our genes.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I think you're right, and I had not thought of it this way before.

It won't be true, however, for those who are childless.

[angstlessk]

2. Yes it is true...the father, mother, cousins, uncles, aunts

They all have the same genes...that is about the ants and bees..the family of genes is what goes forward

[No Vested Interest]

3. I believe I've read that siblings are the closest genetically to one another.

Re thinking you might be dying:
As I've grown older I don't panic when a sharp pain near the heart leads me to think a blood clot might be going to my heart, or some such thought of the body going fatally awry.

Although I've lived many years I still have the will and a reason to live, as I believe my adult children benefit from my love and support for them.

Now that my daughter has suffered a stroke and is still in the recovery stage, I believe she, always more dependent than the others, will need and benefit from my love and support and presence.
I'm aware that one day I won't be there for her and the others, so will be there while I can.

[angstlessk]

4. I too have had sharp pains on the left of my chest

Heart?Gas? I do reach for the aspirin


But better than being knifed to death during a car hijack

Or being shot at a store during a robbery!

[angstlessk]

5. I do believe a reason to live makes living more tenable

Most people die AFTER their birthday, as if they hang on till...being there for your child is much more compelling