Grief Cafe is an open, undemanding space for people who are grieving. At Grief Café, the expression of grief is welcomed with kindness and acceptance. Sometimes expressing grief means tears of sadness, sometimes rage, sometimes apathy, sometimes silence, an inability to put into words the depth of our loss. The face of grief is as multi-faceted as we human beings are multi-faceted. At Grief Cafe, there are no expectations of how one shows up. We don’t aim to influence or fix, but to allow.

 With courage and kind attention, we invite one another to share the truth of our grief experience, without any requirement that it be palatable or socially acceptable. Humbly, we bear witness to one another’s grief, in whatever way it arises. We offer no judgments, no evaluations, no advice. Together, we learn for ourselves what grief is, what it means to each of us, how it looks and sounds and feels to each of us.

 Grief arises not only when someone dies. The opening to grief arises with the opening to love. Whenever something precious to us is lost, through change or death, grief is the natural human response. Though universal, grief is also unique to each of us, unique to each love, unique to each loss. There is no timetable for grief, as there is no timetable for love.

 Since we cannot be an expert on another’s grief, we resist the desire to fix, cross-talk, give advice or interrupt one another. Rather, we share from our own experience, accepting the invitation to spend the evening with our grief while in the company of others

1954 Placentia Ave #109 Costa Mesa CA, 92627