Published in the Pawtucket times on May 28, 2001

Some aging Baby Boomers squirm at the thought of turning age 50. The reality of aging often hits home when a letter arrives from the AARP urging them to become a member.

But one’s senior years could be uplifting, not a downer. Radio producer and writer Connie Goldman believes that the aging process can be viewed as a spiritual quest, not a personal crisis.

Goldman writes and produces public radio programs about seniors, from caregiving to cultivating your inner guard to talking about seniors who enjoy becoming more creative, alive and aware in their later years.

In one radio program, she talked about “Late Bloomers,” persons in their later years who choose to enjoy late life learning, climbing steep mountains and even becoming artists, dancers and writers in their later years.  But “being busy for the sake of being busy” ignores the real benefits of growing older, Goldman states, noting that the later years offer opportunities to focus on activities that are meaningful and internally enriching you.

For those age 50 and older, there are many opportunities to take advantage of and enjoy new relationships. Others begin to slowly wind down their hectic career, travel to exotic lands, assist in raising their grandchildren or contribute back to society through volunteer work. “It’s good to keep busy with something you truly enjoy,” Goldman says, but the simple act of watching a beautiful sunrise or sunset or even quietly puttering around your garden can be as stimulating as a jam-packed calendar of activities.

According to Goldman, as the outer world shrinks and we pull back into our selves, our inner personal world is given space to  grow. “This time of our lives can provide us with an opportunity to explore a different side of our selves. During the quiet times of midlife and beyond, gardening can offer us a chance for  contemplation, meditation, deep relation and inner calm,” she adds.

“Gardening provides us with a way to connect with the earth ad get in touch with the natural world,” Goldman states.

With the raves and kudos Goldman received from her recent one-hour public radio special, “The Wisdom of Gardening: Conversation with Elders and Others,” the 70-year-old writer and radio producer, and her writing colleague Richard Mahler, coauthored a book on the deeper meaning of gardening.

This 235-page book, “Tending the Earth, Mending the Spirit: The Healing Gifts of Gardening,” explores how the simple act of gardening can bring great satisfaction to gardeners, as well as to those who visit gardens. Interviewers told them how they found peace in their backyard when they were dealing with sadness and grief, relief from the stresses of the work place or feeling great joy in watching a tiny plant growing to be a big beautiful flower or ripe tomato.

“Whether you garden on a plot or in a pot, one experiences great satisfaction in being a partner in nature’s growth,” Goldman adds. So, as summer time approaches, get off the fast track of life. Dust off your gardening tools, put on your old clothing and sneakers. In the backyard vegetable patch, Goldman urges us to spend time connecting with the “natural world through gardening.” Whether admiring roses in your background patch or a neighbor’s garden, eating vegetables that you grew or simply enjoying the cool shade of trees, take time to nurture your “celestial Eden.”