Terugblik - Saki Santorelli neemt afscheid

Saki Santorelli, de opvolger en eerste stagair van Jon Kabat-Zinn neemt afscheid. Hij en Jon Kabat-Zinn hebben veel betekent voor de (internationale) ontwikkeling van MBSR en mindfulness. Vele VVM-leden zijn bij trainingen en retraites van hem geweest. Onze dank gaat naar hem uit en we wensen hem veel succes. Lees hier zijn brief.

My Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is with gratitude, a clear sense of accomplishment, and a wide-open world before me that I have decided to step aside as Executive Director and enter into the next phase of my life's work and purpose. I formally submitted my letter of retirement as the Executive Director of the UMMS Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society effective August 11th, 2017.

As many of you know, I have been associated with the Center since 1981, being the first intern in the nascent Stress Reduction Clinic. In 1983, I joined Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, as the Assistant Director of the clinic. In 1996, I was appointed the MBSR Clinic Director and, in July 2000, I began serving as the Executive Director of the Center for Mindfulness.

During my tenure, the Center has grown from national prominence into a unique center of distinction and inspiration for people around the world.

You are a member of this global community. Whether or not we have ever met - whether you have been a program participant, a professional intent on incorporating mindfulness into your life and work, an MBSR teacher trainee or an MBSR teacher - my life has been enriched by your practice and presence because we share the intention to live a more awakened and compassionate life.

Yet, while this intention is necessary, it is not sufficient. We are engaged in something far more radical: rather than simply thinking that all of this is a good idea, we are attempting to embody our deepest values. Being so, you may be discovering that this commitment is shaping your priorities, your actions, and your sense of self. Ultimately, such an orientation to life is courageous, always a matter of heart, a matter of feeling and conviction far deeper and more live giving than our usual emotions.

This is the jewel we share. No matter the conditions we face, this jewel remains indestructible and luminous.

Now it is time for me to entrust the next generation of CFM leaders to further the work of mindfulness set in motion across the last four decades at UMass. I can't imagine a better job to have been entrusted with for all these years.

I am about to leave for a month of teaching in Europe. While retiring as Executive Director, I will retain my faculty appointment and professorship at the medical school. When I return, I will begin meeting with Dr. Judson Brewer, MD, PhD, the Center's Research Director who will serve as the interim Executive Director, about the best ways I might serve the Center going forward.

I wish you well...

Love,