I am once again participating in Sometimes Sweet’s weekly journal prompts, and this week the prompt is:

If you had unlimited resources, what political or social issue, or area of scientific or medical exploration would you fund? Do you have a cause that is dear and near to your heart that you’d put your time, energy, and money into if you had the means? Tell us about it, along with a bit of background explaining where you’re coming from.

I’ve always said that if I ever won the lottery and ended up with millions of dollars I’d donate a large portion of the winnings.  That being said, I’ve never had a cause that was near and dear to my heart, though I can think of so many important causes and issues that need attention.  Would I spread the wealth all around or focus on a select few?  Making decisions is one of my least favorite things, but for the sake of this entry and as a good brain/social exercise, I’m going to force myself to choose a select few.

Years and years ago, I vaguely recall going to an animal shelter to get a cat. I couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8 years old and probably wanted a kitten, but my mom had the good sense to get a cat that was 1 or 2 years old. Smokey was such a special cat, and I could spend an entire post talking about what an awesome cat she was, but that’s for another day.  When I moved out, Smokey stayed with my mom, and I inherited (begged for) Ziggy, but also made the mistake of going to the local animal shelter with my mom. There were so many cats and kittens, but one tiny little black fur ball caught my attention – probably because he was so vocal and desperately reaching his little paws out of his cage. He wanted to be held so much, and mewed and mewed. My heart broke a little and I told my mom that I couldn’t leave him there.  For that reason, I’ve always had a spot in my heart for animal shelters and The Humane Society is one in particular that I’ve donated to in the past.

One of the biggest issues our world faces right now, though, is our changing environment and the damage that we have caused over a fairly short period of time.  It’s hard to choose just one environmental issue to focus on since they all are interconnected and linked to one cause – humans.  Global warming is a growing issue, as well as nature conservation in general.  It seems that the human race is doing too little too late and unless there is a swift turnaround so much will be lost.  Granted, we aren’t perfect in our house, but we try to be mindful and hope to make bigger lifestyle changes in the upcoming years.  I think the environment, now more than ever, needs what help it can get in terms of educating our youth and making it a higher priority for everyone.  Too many people have a selfish outlook and figure that as long as they have what they need they don’t need to do more. Or maybe it isn’t even selfishness, but a desire to not even think about the things that make us uncomfortable. I admit that I don’t like watching the news because I become anxious and fearful about the world around me. What kind of a world are my children going to grow up in?  That thought alone makes me want to do more and face my anxiety and fears and attempt to do something.