No one has noticed me today,

yet,

but all around me I see and hear things.

People fuss over other people's babies as they stroll in the park.

Dogs wag their tails and jump all over their owners.

Last night was filled with the harmony of quacking geese by the pond outside.

They were having a party and entertaining me in the process.

This morning I awoke to the music of sparrows and blue jays outside my window.

Perhaps they were arguing, like some people I know,

or maybe they were simply wishing each other good morning.

The blanket of life now feels as warm as wool for the first time in months.

The simple things might be all it will take to get me through the day,

and then the week,

and then the month.

How could I ever think of never experiencing those pure, innocent joys again?

Maybe those things that most people overlook will be the push I need to take control of my 

     life,

to walk up to someone and smile at them first.

The two words I whisper before I go to sleep

and before I awake the next morning

are "baby steps."