Dear Kevin and Patricia,
I am so thankful that you have started
another school like Academy of the Rockies. As I have sorted through letters, photographs and
other school matter, my thoughts, and my life, I am frequently reminded of the significance
of my year at AR. I began my year there with a lot of information and knowledge about the
physical world around me. I could identify trees, rocks, types of wood, and the animals;
I could also describe the scenery and my experiences within this physical world.
The feature I was lacking in my
abilities was within the philosophical realm of life. I was not aware of the importance
of freedom and how freedom and individuality could allow me to stand as a tree within
the forest yet prevent myself from being “cut down, processed, and sold” as
one of millions of others — only to be replaced by the next generation
of “processable matter.”
Consequently, in the last 25 years,
I have been able to choose what I do, where, I do it, with whom I go through life, and
to change that which I feel should be changed to better my life and that of those around me.
In some ways I regret not returning to
the Academy of the Rockies to teach as an assistant instructor when the position was offered.
However I have no regrets throughout the pathway of life which I have chosen. I know, thanks
to authors such as James Allen, that I have been able to weed, water, and cultivate my
Garden of Life — to lead myself to a well-planted position emotionally and physically.
With much love and admiration,
— Chuck B.
Chesterhill, Ohio