I'm very pleased to be here. Let's face it, at my age I'm very

The immortal comedian George Burns, whose laughter carried the warmth of wisdom, once said: “I’m very pleased to be here. Let’s face it, at my age I’m very pleased to be anywhere.” To the casual ear, these words sound like the jest of an old entertainer, a simple quip meant to win a chuckle from the audience. Yet beneath the laughter lies something profound — the spirit of gratitude, humility, and resilience that comes only from one who has walked long upon the earth, seen its joys and its sorrows, and learned to greet every dawn as a gift.

The origin of this quote springs from Burns’s later years as a performer. He had lived far beyond the age when most men retire to silence. Even into his nineties, he continued to perform, his humor seasoned with age but still sharp and alive. When he stepped on stage and uttered those words, audiences laughed, but also felt something deeper stir within them. They saw before them a man who had outlasted his time, who had buried friends, partners, even his beloved wife Gracie Allen, yet still found joy in simply being — in standing, breathing, and making others smile. His joke, though wrapped in comedy, was a hymn to survival.

In truth, Burns’s humor was his philosophy. Through wit, he taught endurance. Through laughter, he disguised the quiet courage of the aging heart. He understood what so many forget — that the measure of life is not how far one travels or how long one reigns, but the ability to keep delight alive even as the body weakens. When he said he was “pleased to be anywhere,” he was not mocking old age; he was honoring it. For to live long enough to laugh about one’s fragility is to triumph over fear. Gratitude becomes the crown of the wise — not the gratitude of the rich for their treasures, but of the aged for each new morning.

Consider the story of Mark Twain, another master of humor whose laughter hid a philosopher’s soul. When Twain, aged and weary, was once asked about growing old, he replied with a twinkle, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Like Burns, he used jest to shield a deeper truth — that one must never surrender one’s spirit to time. These men knew that age does not define the heart, and that humor, like light, can keep despair at bay. Their laughter was not denial, but defiance: a refusal to let mortality steal their joy.

Burns’s words also remind us of the fragility and wonder of being alive. In youth, we take presence for granted — we rush through days as if they were endless. But with age comes revelation: that simply being here is itself a miracle. The old man’s jest becomes the philosopher’s truth — that existence, in all its pain and imperfection, is a gift beyond measure. To stand, to breathe, to see another sunrise — these are victories the young too often overlook.

In our own age of hurry and distraction, his wisdom speaks all the louder. We chase progress and possessions, always looking ahead, forgetting to rejoice in the now. Burns’s line teaches us to pause and be thankful, to recognize that being here — wherever “here” may be — is reason enough for joy. The spirit that endures with laughter is one that will never be broken, no matter what years may bring.

The lesson, then, is this: meet each day with humor and gratitude. Do not lament the passing of youth, nor fear the shadow of time. Instead, greet life as George Burns did — with a smile that says, “I’m pleased to be here,” and a heart that truly means it. The world belongs not to the young or the strong, but to the joyful — to those who can find wonder in simply being.

Thus remember, O traveler through time, that laughter is the last and truest wisdom. When you can laugh at your frailty, you have mastered fear. When you can smile at your age, you have conquered death in spirit. So rise each morning with a thankful heart, and say as Burns did — not in jest, but in truth — “I’m very pleased to be here.” For life itself, fleeting and fragile though it is, remains the greatest stage upon which any soul may stand.