As an employee of Café Gratitude, I have a variety of feelings and thoughts on the closing of the company. Most of all, I am deeply saddened by the actions that brought it to this point. Yes, I grieve the loss of my job, but more importantly, I am grieving the loss of the company which has been so life-giving throughout the five years I have been an employee.

The staff meeting we had right after we found out about the company going out of business was full of emotions and questions. In the history of my time at Café Gratitude, staff meetings have always inspired me, and this day was no different. As I left the café that morning, I walked past the fire station. The fire fighters must have been doing some training or testing of the water because I saw a huge fountain of water spurting up in the air, the forceful fountain that can only come from a powerful hydrant. The kind of water that puts out fires. And I realize that's exactly what this feels like – a forest fire, burning everything in its path to the ground. In that moment, seeing the fountain of water in the early morning sun, I realized that anyone standing on the opposite side of it must have seen the biggest, brightest rainbow ever. I was sure of it. The wall of spray was so thick, and the sun was so bright, I was sure that the rainbow must have been glorious. I decided to go out of my way to simply catch a glimpse of that magnificent rainbow. Before I got there,

 though, the water spray stopped. I had missed my chance. But even just thinking about that rainbow and how beautiful it must have been put a smile on my face that lasted for several minutes. That's how powerful imagination is. The rainbow that day gave me hope.

With great sadness we are announcing the upcoming closing/sale of all Northern California Café Gratitude’s.

A series of aggressive lawsuits has brought us to this unfortunate choice. Although we believe that we have done nothing wrong and our policies are completely legal, it will cost us too much money to defend them in court.  Despite telling the attorneys that brought the lawsuits that the current structure and resources of Café Gratitude are insufficient to sustain and defend our community, they have refused to give up and are forcing us to close.

This week, I would like to share with you about the experience of loss.  I have been very present to loss these last few weeks.  I’ve been noticing the faces of people on the street – thinking that I see someone I know, and startling myself back when they are not there.  I’ve been daydreaming and catching visions in the leaves, rolling my mind around times that have past.  I became aware, in those musings, that there would be a time when I would look back on today, on this present moment in my life, with the same longing that I feel now for other times.

“Impermanence is not a theory. It’s happening every moment.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

A big thank you to Terces and Matthew from all of us!  Thank you for being fierce love warriors, for always being a space of love, and for listening with compassion for all of us.  Thank you for always seeming to get bigger!  Thank you for holding the space for dialogue and giving us the opportunity to share our amazing organic food and love!!!

I am writing this as an elder in our community, and am thanking you in advance for listening with open hearts. My intention is to empower you and to take a stand.

I have read your letters and heard your requests in regards to Occupy Oakland's General Strike. I appreciate your passion, commitment and urgency. Here is what I would like for you to consider:

As individuals we have great freedom in standing up for what we believe in and support. We are free to take great risks and be responsible for whatever consequences there may be. We are free to make our choices. I celebrate this freedom.

So first - the story. Yes! The story, who can i be without the story? A man in the wilderness sitting squatted in padmasana meditating about the self... Of course the story, once you succeeded, transforms into the path. The story is the funny thing we get to remember. The story is what puts bunions in the feet of our ego. The story, once expressed, is ether released into reality, and whoever gets to witness (if they are well enrolled) can help you reach the greatest goal. 

Every day new products hit the shelves of stores that can do more, better, faster, and smaller.  I'm sure you or someone you know owns a laptop, a smart phone, or a ipad (the mico-powerhouses of modern computing).  Not only do we have access to a world of information in the palms of our hands, we also have access to more mundane technological masterpieces: fridge magnets that play digital videos, ant farms that project moving images of the ants onto the ceiling, and laptop fans to keep your laptop cool as you stream video while playing solitaire.
In our modern experience of high-tech saturation (both necessary and superfluous), I would like to serve up the technological equivalent of some down-home cookin’. I present to you three low-tech, high-impact appropriate and responsible technologies that are transforming the lives of regular people worldwide.

Solar Bottle Lights: In the town of San Pedro, just outside of Manila in the Philippines, a local transformation is occurring.  Men salvage used plastic bottles, fill them with water, and cast light into dark places. Huh?  That's right.  In an area where most buildings are made of corrugated steel, most families have had to rely on expensive electrical lights to see in their homes during the day.  Not any more.  At the price of $1 per installation, many families are opting to let the sunshine in, using plastic water bottles filled with water to create solar ceiling lights.  Not only is this diverting waste from landfills, it is also creating green job alternatives for people ready to embrace this new technology.

I am thrilled to be back from our Rome trip, and am loving being in our Central Kitchen doing the work to fine tune our operations! Besides it takes me out of the rain and cold!

It is always so good to return home. We have such an amazing community here. We have our first ripe tomatoes in the greenhouse and are so happy for the early harvest that is coming up before too long. My baby chicks are all feathered out and are wondering outside of their nesting box for the first time this week - they are SO cute. Our lettuce, kale, and potatoes are growing beautifully. The cilantro, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes are wishing for sunnier days. 

Have you tried the new menu yet? So many great new items. Our Harrison store is remodeled and awaiting the framed pictures, coming soon. Drop by and take a look, the colors are warm and welcoming. Thank you all for your on going partnership. 

I love what these yoga studios are doing.  They are making yoga accessible through a pay-it-forward system similar to what we're doing with our Grateful Bowl Program.  I'm calling these types of programs "grateful programs":  where there is no obligation and purely a by-donation service or product that helps to heal the body & planet.  If you know of one near you, let us know at blog@cafegratitude.com!  As we learn of more by-donation yoga programs, we'll announce them here!

Yoga to the People in New York, Berkeley, San Francisco

Yogaworks is not your average yoga studio.  YogaWorks is a school for the rest of your life. When you walk through their doors you will not only find all styles and levels of yoga, but also a wonderfully diverse, warm and welcoming community of students, staff and teachers. Their goal is to guide students to greater self-awareness, focus, and health through their full spectrum of yoga programs.

As their mission states,