A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the per... — Hugh Sidey

A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.

Author: Hugh Sidey

Insight: We live in a culture that sometimes treats seriousness as evidence of depth. The person who can joke in difficult moments, who finds absurdity even in frustration, gets dismissed as not taking things seriously enough. But Sidey points at something real: humor isn't the opposite of understanding life—it's often proof you actually get it. When you can laugh at your own mistakes instead of spiraling into shame, you're demonstrating something important. You've recognized that most things that feel catastrophic in the moment will eventually become funny stories. That's not delusion or avoidance. That's hard-won perspective. The person who laughs isn't ignoring life's weight; they're choosing not to let that weight crush them flat. There's wisdom in that choice, even something brave about it. This matters now because we're drowning in information designed to keep us anxious and upset. Joy feels almost subversive. But people who maintain genuine humor, who can still find lightness without being frivolous, tend to navigate complexity better than the perpetually grim. They stay flexible. They don't burn out as fast. Humor isn't armor against feeling—it's armor against despair.