Today I turn 35 years old, and there are many lessons that I’ve learned, and yet have to learn. One of the most important is that no matter how rough your life is right now, there’s someone, or something, who might be having an even harder time who needs help and money and the support of kind strangers. Often $35.00 feels like a lot to give, but as the Buddhist Lodro Rinzler said (paraphrasing) in one of his amazing books, when you feel like you can’t give anything, that’s exactly when you should give something in order to expand your heart.

I am going to give $35.00 to an animal shelter today, and I ask that today you give $5.00 for my birthday (or even higher if you can) if you are able to an animal shelter, a homeless shelter, or some other charitable organization that you hold close to your heart.  If nothing comes to mind, please donate to where I’ll be donating,  The Catcade in Chicago, a non-profit cat cafe and shelter that pulls from high kill shelters in Chicago and love them so much until their perfect person comes in to adopt them.

The Catcade also hosts cat yoga on Sunday mornings and is the most adorable hour of yoga of your life. You should go.

Here is a short list of other non-profit organizations for more inspiration:

Whiskers and Tails Rescue Foundation 

Felines and Canines

Treehouse Human Society 

Deborah’s Place (Women’s Shelter)

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

Go out and rescue or foster an animal from a shelter. Adopt, don’t shop.