Grounded in Gratitude: Stories and Practices for the Resilient Heart

Grounded in Gratitude: Stories for the Resilient Heart is an online meditation day led by Jack Kornfield. It brings together guided meditation, heartfelt storytelling and shared conversation in a single day. It suits anyone who wants to practice mindfulness and gratitude with a long-time Buddhist teacher, from the comfort of home.

The day is held online, so you can take part from wherever you are, without travel.

What to Expect

The organizer describes the day as nourishing, and it moves between three kinds of practice. There is meditation, which gives the day its steady center. There is storytelling, offered from the heart, which turns the theme of gratitude into something lived and concrete rather than abstract. And there is collective dialogue, a chance to reflect together on what has surfaced and to hear how others are meeting their own difficulties.

The title points to resilience, and the emphasis is on a heart that can stay open and steady through hard times. Gratitude here is a practice to return to, not a mood to put on.

About Jack Kornfield

Jack Kornfield is a meditation teacher who grew up in a Jewish family in the United States, with an early curiosity about spirituality and the human experience. After graduating from Dartmouth College, he traveled to Asia, where he studied Buddhism in Thailand, India and Burma. He became a monk in the Theravada tradition and immersed himself in meditation practice and the teachings of revered masters. That time in the East shaped his understanding of mindfulness and compassion, which he later brought back to the West.

Back in the United States, Kornfield co-founded the Insight Meditation Society alongside Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein, an organization that played a pivotal role in introducing Buddhist meditation practices to a Western audience. He later established the Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He is also known, with Tara Brach, for teaching mindfulness and compassion-based practices, including the Power of Awareness course and a professional training program for teachers.

Before You Go

Because this is an online gathering, all you need is a quiet place where you can sit, listen and speak if you wish to join the dialogue. The material does not name a required level of experience, and the mix of meditation, stories and conversation suggests an open, welcoming format for people at many stages of practice.

If you are looking for an online meditation day with Jack Kornfield, centered on gratitude and the strength of an open heart, this is a considered way to spend it.