Humor is to get us over terrible things.

When Ricky Gervais said, “Humor is to get us over terrible things,” he distilled a truth as ancient as humanity itself: that laughter is not frivolity, but a lifeline. In the face of tragedy, fear, and suffering, humor becomes the bridge between despair and survival, a tool through which the soul can endure what the heart might otherwise shatter beneath. Gervais recognizes that life is filled with cruelty, misfortune, and sorrow, yet in laughter, we discover resilience, perspective, and the courage to continue. Humor, in this sense, is more than amusement — it is a means of transcendence.

The ancients understood this principle intimately. Aristotle, in his Poetics, recognized the cathartic effect of comedy: laughter provides relief from tension, offering the audience a way to confront fear, grief, and anxiety through reflection and shared experience. Similarly, the Stoics taught that while suffering is inevitable, our response is ours to choose. Humor, when applied to the terrible things of life, becomes a Stoic tool — a way to meet reality with composure, perspective, and the quiet defiance of spirit.

Gervais’ philosophy finds resonance in history and literature. Consider Viktor Frankl, imprisoned in the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp. Amid starvation, terror, and death, he and his fellow prisoners found moments of levity — whispered jokes, absurd observations, small performances — not to mock suffering, but to withstand it. Frankl later wrote that humor was one of the soul’s weapons in the fight for survival, a humanizing force that allowed prisoners to endure horrors that would otherwise have crushed them completely. This mirrors Gervais’ insight: laughter is not escape; it is survival.

Even in personal experience, humor has proven its power to carry us through trials. Ricky Gervais, a comedian and actor, often draws from life’s dark moments in his work, using irony, satire, and self-deprecation to illuminate human absurdity. Through his humor, he transforms tragedy into reflection, fear into amusement, and despair into connection. It is precisely this function — to get us over terrible things — that gives laughter its enduring value, both as personal therapy and as a medium of shared humanity.

The ancients would also note that humor is moral as well as practical. By confronting the terrible with laughter, one affirms the enduring dignity of the human spirit. To laugh at misfortune, whether one’s own or the absurdity of life itself, is to assert that suffering cannot fully conquer us. Humor preserves agency in the face of chaos; it reminds the soul that even when circumstances are grim, perspective, resilience, and wit remain within reach. It is both armor and insight.

Historical figures have often wielded humor as a weapon against hardship. Winston Churchill, during the dark days of World War II, frequently employed sharp wit and irony to maintain morale — in speeches, correspondence, and private moments. His humor did not trivialize the terror surrounding him; it allowed him and others to endure it, to find clarity, courage, and unity in the face of almost insurmountable danger. Churchill and Gervais both demonstrate that humor is not a distraction from reality, but a means of navigating it.

The lesson, then, is timeless: do not underestimate the power of laughter in times of trial. When confronted with the terrible — loss, fear, injustice, or grief — humor allows the mind to see beyond immediate despair, to reclaim control, and to restore perspective. It is the bridge from suffering to resilience, from shock to acceptance, and from isolation to connection. Humor is not denial; it is a declaration that the spirit survives.

In practice, this means cultivating the ability to observe life with both honesty and levity. Seek the irony in tragedy, the absurdity in difficulty, and allow laughter to sustain you without diminishing the seriousness of experience. Share that humor with others, not to mock, but to illuminate and console. As Ricky Gervais teaches, humor is a sacred tool — one that carries us over the terrible things of life, strengthens the soul, and reminds us that even in darkness, the human spirit can endure, reflect, and ultimately, smile.