Finding Joy After 40: Why Humor Can Be Healing (and Even Holy)

 I’ve been on a personal mission lately: finding joy.

Not the shallow kind. Not the “take a bubble bath” kind (although those have their place). I mean the kind of joy that makes you feel lighter in your body. The kind that helps you breathe again.

For a long time, I lived with a tight grip on life. I “white-knuckled” it — trying to do everything right. Work hard. Eat well. Exercise. Be responsible.

And I honestly didn’t realize what I was missing until I started asking myself one simple question:

Where is the fun?

That’s why my latest podcast episode is such a breath of fresh air.

I sat down with Rabbi Bob Alper — a rabbi who became a full-time standup comedian — and our conversation reminded me that humor isn’t just entertainment. It can be a tool for healing, connection, and even purpose.

Bob shared how humor has been used for centuries in teaching — even in ancient Jewish texts — not as a distraction, but as a way to help people open up and receive what matters.

He also shared something that truly moved me: after one of his shows, a woman who was dying of cancer came up to him and said:

“For an hour and a half, I forgot I was sick.”

I don’t know about you, but that stopped me in my tracks.

Because that’s what laughter can do.
It doesn’t take away pain — but it gives us a break from drowning in it.

We also talked about second acts — the brave decision to pivot, to follow a gift, and to say yes when unexpected doors open. Bob didn’t set out to become a comedian, but when the opportunity came, he took it… and he kept going through the bad nights, the “polite applause,” and the failures.

And one of the parts I loved most was his commitment to wholesome humor. He shared a moment when he realized a joke might hurt someone, and he stopped using it forever — because real humor shouldn’t come at someone else’s expense.

This episode is for anyone who:

• feels like life has been heavy lately
  
  

• is craving joy, laughter, and lightness
  
  

• is thinking about a “second act” after 40
  
  

• wants to live with more purpose and less pressure
  
  

Joy is not frivolous.
Joy is fuel.

And sometimes… joy begins with a good laugh.

You can listen to the episode here!