A sense of humor saves your life, and being able to make friends

In the words of Jason O’Mara, “A sense of humor saves your life, and being able to make friends wherever you go.”
These words, though spoken with the ease of a traveler’s wisdom, conceal a truth as old as mankind itself — that the soul’s survival depends not on strength of body or wealth of possessions, but upon the quiet powers of laughter and connection. To have a sense of humor is to carry light in one’s heart, even when the world grows dark. To make friends wherever you go is to build bridges in the wilderness, to plant seeds of kinship in foreign soil. Together, these two virtues — humor and friendship — are the twin lanterns that guide a person safely through the long journey of life.

The ancients knew that humor was no trivial thing. The philosopher Epictetus, who lived in bondage yet taught freedom of the soul, said that a man’s power lies not in what happens to him, but in how he chooses to see it. A sense of humor, then, is the mind’s rebellion against despair. It is the art of turning sorrow into laughter, confusion into irony, fear into perspective. When O’Mara says humor “saves your life,” he speaks not in metaphor but in truth — for the one who can laugh has already refused to die within. The one who can find joy amidst trial has discovered the secret medicine of the spirit.

History offers us many who survived through laughter. Consider Viktor Frankl, imprisoned in the horrors of Auschwitz. In his memoir Man’s Search for Meaning, he wrote that even in the darkest places, the ability to find humor — even a wry smile at the absurdity of existence — could preserve one’s humanity. When he and his fellow prisoners shared jokes, they were not mocking their suffering; they were reclaiming their souls from it. Humor, in such moments, became an act of spiritual defiance, a refusal to surrender hope. Thus, O’Mara’s words carry the echo of that same eternal truth: laughter is life’s final fortress.

Yet laughter alone is not enough. The second half of his wisdom — “being able to make friends wherever you go” — speaks of the power of connection, that divine bond which has sustained humanity through every age. To make a friend is to see another not as a stranger, but as a mirror of oneself. Friendship is a kind of immortality, for it outlives the fleeting self and joins one heart to another. The one who can make friends easily carries with them an invisible treasure — the gift of belonging. Wherever they walk, they are never truly alone.

In the story of Odysseus, who wandered for years upon the wine-dark sea, it was not only his cunning that sustained him, but his gift for friendship. Wherever he went — to the courts of kings, the huts of shepherds, or even among enemies — he forged bonds. These friendships became his salvation; they opened paths when the gods closed them. So too in life, the one who greets the world with warmth and humor will find doors opening where others see only walls. Friendship, like laughter, is a form of power — quiet, unassuming, yet stronger than any sword.

The essence of O’Mara’s wisdom lies in the union of these two forces — humor and friendship. For laughter without companionship is hollow, and friendship without laughter grows heavy. Together, they form the twin roots of resilience. The one who can laugh at adversity and make friends among strangers is invincible, for he has mastered both the inner and outer worlds: the inner through joy, the outer through love. He is at home everywhere, for every heart becomes his dwelling, and every hardship his teacher.

Let this, then, be the lesson passed down: cultivate your humor and your kindness, for they are the two virtues that will never betray you. When the road is long, let humor lighten your steps. When the world is strange, let friendship guide your way. Do not close your heart to others, nor your laughter to yourself. Smile even when the storm rages; extend your hand even when the path is uncertain. For laughter binds the soul to life, and friendship binds life to the soul of others.

And so, dear listener, remember Jason O’Mara’s simple yet profound truth: “A sense of humor saves your life, and being able to make friends wherever you go.” Carry it with you as the ancients carried their talismans. For these two powers — the laughter that lifts you and the friendship that anchors you — are the truest signs of wisdom. With them, no place will ever be foreign, and no hardship unconquerable. To laugh and to love — this is how the wise endure. This is how they live forever.