If one tends to be a humorous person and you have a sense of

Hear now, O Children of the Earth, the wise words of Alan Thicke, who speaks of a deep and often overlooked strength: "If one tends to be a humorous person and you have a sense of humor, the rest of your life then you can certainly lighten the load, I think, by bringing that to your trials and tribulations. It’s easy to have a sense of humor when everything is going well." In these words, Thicke offers us a profound truth: that humor is not merely a gift in times of joy, but a powerful tool in moments of struggle and suffering. For when the world becomes heavy, when we are weighed down by the burdens of life, it is humor that can lift us, ease our pain, and help us navigate the darkest moments with lightness.

At first glance, humor may seem like something that comes easily when life is smooth, when the sun is shining, and the winds are at our backs. But Thicke invites us to see humor as something much deeper. It is not merely the ability to laugh at easy jokes, but the courage to face the challenges of life with grace and laughter. To bring humor to our trials is not to diminish the pain or the seriousness of our struggles, but to recognize that even in the heaviest of moments, there is still room for lightness and joy. It is in these moments that humor becomes not just a tool of entertainment, but a means of survival.

Consider, O Children, the example of the great philosophers of the past, who faced the trials of their lives not with bitterness, but with a kind of humorous wisdom. Take Socrates, who, though condemned to death, faced his fate not with despair, but with a kind of ironic humor. In his final moments, he joked with his followers, making light of the circumstances even as he prepared to drink the hemlock. His humor, in the face of such profound trial, did not lessen the tragedy of his death, but it lifted the spirits of those around him. Socrates showed that in our darkest moments, we do not have to succumb to despair. Instead, we can choose to face those moments with a light heart and a sharp mind.

Similarly, Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies are filled with moments where humor emerges in the most unlikely of places. Even in Hamlet, a play of deep tragedy, there are moments of humor—sharp, biting, and deeply human. The gravedigger’s scene, for example, brings laughter even in the face of death, showing that humor can be a way of confronting the inevitability of life’s suffering. Shakespeare understood that true wisdom is not found in the absence of hardship, but in the ability to see the absurdity of life and laugh, even when the world seems full of sorrow.

In our own time, O Children, we see how humor can transform the way we face challenges. Think of Viktor Frankl, a man who survived the horrors of the Holocaust. In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Frankl writes of how those who could find humor in the most unbearable situations were often the ones who survived. His ability to laugh at the absurdity of life in the concentration camps gave him a sense of freedom that others did not have. Humor, for Frankl, was not an escape from the horrors around him, but a way of reclaiming his humanity in the face of dehumanization. It was a way to rise above the suffering, to find meaning and joy in a world that had been stripped of both.

The lesson, O Children, is this: humor is not just a gift of ease, but a gift for the most difficult moments of life. When life becomes too heavy to bear, when the world seems filled with tribulation, humor can be the light that guides us through. Humor is the shield that helps us bear the pain, the sword that helps us cut through the darkness. It is easy to laugh when all is well, but true strength lies in the ability to face the storm with laughter, to find the joy even in the struggle.

Therefore, O Children, let us cultivate humor not just in the good times, but in the times of trial. Let us find strength in laughter, even when the world seems dark. Let us take humor and use it to lighten the load of our own struggles, and to help lighten the burdens of others. Just as Socrates faced death with a smile, and Frankl found meaning in suffering through humor, so too must we learn to face life’s challenges with a light heart and a sharp mind. In this way, we will discover that even in the midst of our deepest trials, there is always room for joy, and humor will carry us through.