by Maureen Lakin, Pamela Gray and John Gray

Maureen Lakin: Namaste! Along with this Sanskrit greeting of deep respect, it is an honor to be with you all today and to be here with John and Pamela.

As you are probably aware, in the past six weeks, the states of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have been dealing with the aftermath of two horrific hurricanes. The first hurricane, named Helene, shot into North Carolina causing monumental loss and destruction, particularly for residents of communities in the Appalachian Mountains. This hurricane also took the lives of hundreds of people. Its path was very interesting because it struck Florida and continued heading northward toward Atlanta, but then circled around the greater Atlanta area, bypassing it altogether, and coming down in North Carolina about 10 miles up the road from where I live.