“Joy of Living”

The French call it “Joie de vivre.” It’s first found in the pantheistic writings of Jules Michelet. Humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers praises it as “a spontaneous relaxed enjoyment” and “the quiet joy in being one’s self.” It is captured in the giggling delight that bonded Bishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. Hugh Taft-Morales explores this commonplace yet evasive aspect of living. What can we do to nurture more joy in our lives? What can we do to give it to others?

Hugh Taft-Morales serves as Leader of the Philadelphia Ethical Society and the Baltimore Ethical Society and is a member of the Ethical Action Committee of the American Ethical Union (AEU).  Hugh taught philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D. C., after which he transitioned into Ethical Culture Leadership.  In April of 2009 he graduated from the Humanist Institute and was certified as an Ethical Culture Leader by the AEU in 2010.