Never take anything for granted.

Benjamin Disraeli, the great British statesman and master of words, once gave this immortal admonition: “Never take anything for granted.” Short though it may be, the phrase resounds with the weight of centuries. It is a call to awaken from forgetfulness, to open the eyes of the soul, and to see the gifts of life not as common, but as sacred. For the curse of mankind is often not cruelty, but indifference—the habit of overlooking what is most precious because it is always near.

To take something for granted is to blind oneself to its value. We assume the sun will rise, the breath will come, the loved one will be there tomorrow. Yet history and life itself teach us that nothing is guaranteed. Kingdoms fall overnight, friendships dissolve, health fails, and opportunities vanish like mist. Disraeli, who lived through political storms and personal hardships, understood that gratitude and vigilance are the antidotes to complacency. His words echo the wisdom of the ancients: “Remember that you are mortal, and that all things pass.”

Consider the story of Anne Frank, hidden in an attic while the world outside fell into madness. In her diary she marveled at a glimpse of sky, at the song of a bird, at the simple hope of freedom. Things the free world had taken for granted, she cherished as treasures of unspeakable worth. Her testimony, rising from the darkest shadows of history, is a rebuke to every soul that forgets to marvel at the ordinary blessings of life.

The power of this quote also reveals itself in the realm of leadership. Disraeli himself rose from outsider status—an ambitious man of Jewish heritage in a nation often closed to him—yet he climbed to the highest office of Prime Minister. He never took his place for granted, and because of that, he labored tirelessly, aware that every position, every opportunity, was fragile and could be lost. It was his vigilance and gratitude that turned him into a force of history.

We may see, then, that to live with this wisdom is to walk each day as if holding sacred trust. The smile of a child, the health of the body, the roof over one’s head, the chance to speak one’s truth—these are not ordinary, they are miracles. To take them for granted is to live asleep. To cherish them is to live awake, and to live awake is to live fully.

The lesson for us is plain: do not wait until loss teaches you the value of what you had. Instead, let gratitude sharpen your vision today. Pause to notice what sustains you—the food you eat, the hands that help you, the freedoms you enjoy. Say aloud your thanks, and act in ways that honor the gifts entrusted to you. For the one who lives with constant awareness of life’s fragility will also live with constant joy.

Practically, we may cultivate this by practicing daily reflection. Begin and end each day by naming aloud three things you must never take for granted. Speak thanks to those around you, not in silence but in word and deed. Guard against complacency by treating each opportunity as rare, each relationship as sacred, each breath as holy.

Thus, Disraeli’s words endure across the ages: “Never take anything for granted.” They are both warning and invitation—a warning against blindness, and an invitation to live in the blazing light of gratitude. If we heed them, we will not merely exist, but will truly live, seeing each moment as the precious and fleeting gift that it is.