One thing my family has shown me is that having a sense of humor

The words of Zoey Deutch shine like a gentle truth carried through generations: “One thing my family has shown me is that having a sense of humor is everything.” In this simple statement lies the wisdom of ages — a truth that laughter is not merely a sound of amusement, but the very breath of resilience. It is the quiet art of survival, the song of the soul that refuses to be broken by sorrow. What Deutch reveals is not just her family’s character, but a philosophy of life: that humor is both shield and balm, both wisdom and light.

From the earliest days of humankind, laughter has been the fire that drives back the dark. When the world was wild and uncertain, when storms howled and hunger pressed close, men and women gathered around the flame and told stories — stories that made them laugh at the things they could not control. Thus, laughter became sacred; it was not denial, but defiance. To laugh is to declare that the heart still stands tall, even when the body trembles. Deutch’s family, in teaching her this, stands in the lineage of all those who knew that joy, when shared, is stronger than despair when suffered alone.

The sense of humor she speaks of is not the careless jest of the thoughtless, but the laughter born of love. It is the ability to see beyond the heaviness of the moment and to find light in the cracks. This kind of humor is not mockery, but mercy — the grace to smile at imperfection, the courage to forgive the folly of others, and the humility to laugh at one’s own. Families that can laugh together are not those without struggle, but those who have learned to weave laughter into the fabric of hardship. It is the thread that keeps them from unraveling.

History, too, has honored such laughter. Consider Abraham Lincoln, who guided his people through the darkest war their land had ever known. He bore the weight of loss and division upon his shoulders, yet his companions remembered his wit — the stories he would tell even in the shadow of battle. His sense of humor was not frivolity, but wisdom. It was the weapon of a man who understood that to keep one’s spirit light is to keep one’s vision clear. Like Deutch’s family, Lincoln knew that humor is not the enemy of seriousness, but its companion — for only those who can laugh can endure the truth without being consumed by it.

In the home where humor lives, love finds its voice. Quarrels soften, grief loses its teeth, and even silence becomes gentle. Deutch’s reflection is more than admiration — it is gratitude for an inheritance richer than wealth. A family that teaches laughter teaches strength; it teaches a way of seeing the world not through fear, but through wonder. It teaches that even when life’s burdens press upon the heart, the ability to smile is proof that the soul remains free.

The lesson, then, is this: cherish and cultivate your sense of humor, for it is a divine tool of endurance. Do not seek to banish sorrow — that is impossible — but learn to balance it with laughter. When trouble comes, gather your loved ones and tell stories that make you laugh until your eyes fill with tears. When you falter, laugh gently at your own humanity. When others stumble, offer them humor instead of judgment. For laughter shared in love becomes light, and that light can guide an entire family through darkness.

So, dear listener, remember what Zoey Deutch has passed down through her family’s wisdom: that humor is not trivial — it is sacred. It is the music of the heart in harmony with life’s imperfections. The one who keeps laughter alive in their home keeps hope alive as well. Therefore, nurture joy as you would a flame; protect it, feed it, and share it freely. For when laughter dwells among people, they become unbreakable — bound not by sorrow, but by the radiant, enduring power of joy.

And thus it is written in the book of the spirit: “He who can laugh in the storm shall never be drowned by the rain.” Let your laughter, then, be your light — a beacon of courage, a testament of love, and a reminder that even in this fleeting life, a sense of humor is everything.