Dick Van Dyke – one of the most joyful performers in American T and film – has spent a lifetime making gravity look negotiable. If you know his name but can’t quite place him, that makes sense. His biggest moments happened a long time ago, but somehow, the spirit behind them has lasted a full century.

Van Dyke first became a household name in the early 1960s, when “The Dick Van Dyke Show” aired from 1961 to 1966. At a time when most TV dads stood stiffly in living rooms, he tripped, fell, danced and turned everyday clumsiness into comedy. He famously and hilariously stumbled over the ottoman chair in the opening credits, sending the message: everyone falls, so you might as well laugh while you’re going down!

A few years later, in 1964, he appeared in “Mary Poppins.” Playing Bert, the cheerful chimney sweep, Van Dyke sang, danced, cracked jokes and somehow made a London rooftop feel warm and welcoming. The movie became a classic, shown again and again to new generations. His appeal wasn’t about being cool or clever. It was about joy. He didn’t act like someone pretending to be happy; he looked like someone who actually enjoyed being alive – and enjoyed other people, too.

Over time, his career stretched across decades. He starred on Broadway in “Bye Bye Birdie” in the early 1960s, appeared in family films like “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in 1968, and later returned to TV with “Diagnosis: Murder,” which ran from 1993 to 2001. That means some people watched him as kids, others as parents and others as grandparents. Few performers have been part of American life for that long.

But living a long life doesn’t mean living an easy one. Van Dyke has spoken openly about hard seasons, including years when alcohol became a problem. He doesn’t hide those chapters or pretend they didn’t happen. His longevity didn’t come from perfection. It came from continuing to choose light, even when darkness was present.

Dick Van Dyke was born on Dec. 13, 1925. This year, he turned 100. A hundred years is an impressive number, but the number alone isn’t the point. What stops people is how he still comes across – curious, amused, kind and emotionally light, even as his body has naturally slowed.

When asked recently how he feels at 100, his answer was simple: “I feel really good. For a hundred, I have no pain, no discomfort.” When people push him for the secret – what vitamins he took, what routine he followed – he shrugs and says, “I don’t know.” That kind of honesty is refreshing. Some things in life just don’t come with a clear answer.

Still, Van Dyke has shared one belief that feels worth hearing. He has said that anger and hate can “eat a person up inside.” He’s explained that he never really learned to hate people or hold onto resentment, even when he strongly disagreed with them. He once compared this to his father, who lived with constant anger and frustration and died at 74. He wasn’t blaming his father. He was pointing out the idea that bitterness and anger might shorten a lifespan.

We work hard on our diets, our finances and our schedules, but we often treat resentment as normal – or even justified. Van Dyke’s long life doesn’t prove anything scientific, and it doesn’t ignore the roles of luck, genetics and circumstance. It simply suggests something gentle and human: that humor helps us endure, that happiness keeps us lighter, and that carrying less anger may give us more room to live.

So let his 100th birthday be more than a celebrity headline. Let it be a moment of reflection. What are you carrying that’s weighing you down? Who are you still arguing with in your head late at night? What anger do you call “just being honest,” when it may actually be draining your life?

Let’s learn to let go. Make one phone call. Write one honest apology. Let something go. Laugh once on purpose. Because the real way to admire Dick Van Dyke isn’t just to celebrate his hundred years – it’s to learn how to move through your own life a little lighter and live a little longer.

• Toby Moore is a Shaw Local News Network columnist, star of the Emmy-nominated film “A Separate Peace,” and CEO of CubeStream Inc. He can be reached at feedback@shawmedia.com.