KEY POINTS:
I love the History Channel. Like all television it may be shallow and sensational at times, but the range of programmes is incredibly stimulating.
This week I've watched docu-dramas on the Great Plague, Protestantism and the Vietnam War.
History helps me put all my problems in perspective. Being an ant in the universe of evolution doesn't mean you don't appreciate the miracle of life, but it certainly keeps your ego under control.
Along with National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, the Documentary Channel and occasionally the Sports Channel, television has never been so addictive.
It's as though observing life has become a substitute for life itself. Intellectual stimulation has become entertainment. If you strategically place the treadmill in front of the TV, you can even keep fit as well.
It worries me a little that our life is so privileged. Our parents went through world wars and depressions, but us pampered brats of the post-war baby boom have had a relatively easy existence.
If you believe in the unity of opposites; flux and flow; yin and yang; as ye sow, so shall ye reap, or any other similar philosophy, then our day of reckoning is long overdue.
Perhaps global warming, a nuclear war or a bird flu pandemic will give some balance to our existence.
Nonetheless I'm 60 and if I die tomorrow I'll still feel very fortunate. When our generation reach retirement, voluntary euthanasia will be considered the norm and it may not be all that voluntary.
My aim is to work till I drop. I've no intention of retiring. There's always work that needs doing - social work, writing, gardening.
Already many officially 'retired' workers find they are busier after retirement and I'm determined to follow in their footsteps.
If I end up on a cruise ship, I hope it will be as a comedian or a waiter. I've got no idea what the future holds and I've got no real plans.
