I wake up every morning literally with a smile on my face

Hear the voice of Dick Cheney, once a man of great power, who spoke not of politics nor conquest, but of gratitude: “I wake up every morning literally with a smile on my face, grateful for another day I never thought I’d see.” This utterance is not the pride of a victor, but the confession of one who has stared into the abyss and returned. It is the cry of a soul that knows how fragile is the thread of life, and how radiant is each dawn that still arrives.

The origin of these words lies in Cheney’s own struggles with illness. For years he lived under the shadow of heart disease, enduring near-death and the knife of surgery, facing the possibility that each day might be his last. To rise again, to breathe again, to see the light once more, was no longer a certainty but a miracle. Thus his smile is not casual, not the idle curve of the lips, but the fruit of gratitude, the triumphant gesture of a man who knows he has been granted time he did not expect.

The ancients, too, spoke of such gratitude. The Stoics taught: “Do not pray for a long life, but for a good one.” Marcus Aurelius reminded himself each dawn to be thankful for awakening, for the mere gift of existence. In Japan, the samurai lived as if already dead, so that each morning they might see the rising sun as a blessing rather than a guarantee. Cheney’s words are a modern echo of this ancient wisdom: to treasure the day because tomorrow is never promised.

Consider also the story of Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison, believing at times he would never again see freedom. Yet when the gates finally opened, he stepped into the world with a heart not embittered but renewed. Each morning of freedom that followed was a gift, undeserved yet received with humility. Like Cheney’s smile, Mandela’s presence became a testimony that survival itself can be victory, and that gratitude transforms suffering into strength.

Cheney’s statement is also a rebuke to the careless spirit that drifts through life unthankful. Many rise each morning in bitterness, lamenting what they lack, blind to what they hold. But he who has walked near death learns what is truly precious. The smile of gratitude is more powerful than wealth, more enduring than ambition, for it springs not from possession but from the raw miracle of breath and heartbeat.

The lesson, then, is clear: do not wait until life is nearly taken from you to honor it. Each day is a gift, each dawn a chance to live anew. Greet it not with complaint, but with a smile, for you do not know how many remain. Gratitude turns the ordinary into the extraordinary, and transforms the weight of existence into the wonder of being alive.

Therefore, beloved, let this be your practice: when you rise, pause and give thanks for the light that falls upon your face. Remember those who did not see this dawn, and cherish the chance you have been given. Wear the smile not as pretense, but as truth, a sign that you understand the value of life. And when your journey comes to its end, may it be said of you that you lived each day as a miracle, grateful for every breath you never thought you would see.