There is that moment in Gad Elmaleh’s latest show. “Life is hard, and at the end you die.”

How these words resonate – what they mean to me, in this moment, is hard to describe. But they hit deep. The joke, and the reality of it.

Life is hard. It really is. It’s also extremely beautiful, extremely joyful. But it’s hard. And like all lucky kids born in a peaceful country, in a peaceful family, I am only realising this little by little.

It’s all of it – the pain, the suffering, the small disappointments and the heart-breaking losses.

It’s the daily battles, the struggle to keep going, to keep working, to keep performing. It’s the big questions, the whys, the wheres, the whos.

It’s the realisation that there is no other time than now. The rare reminders are not so rare anymore – the shit has hit the fan. But the shit is in equal parts good and bad. Would I appreciate the good without the bad? I think I did, in smoother times. But with the bad, I’ve also gained perspective, and I’ve become grateful for that.

Is ignorant bliss real happiness anyway? Not that you get to choose your circumstances. But I’d be happy, deeply happy, with resisting the test of life and triumphing with laughter, wisdom – and some French sarcasm. Because yes, this life I adore, this life I devour, is hard. And at the end you die.