Wren has rolled over after hearing about the coup d’état unfolding in Our Nation’s Capital. I am not rolling over, partly because I don’t look nearly so cute, but largely because I am enraged. Infuriated. Sick. Call it a Coup! Come on you sissypants mainstream media, Call it a Coup! I’ve doubled down on my Jessica Craven calls to Congress, but I admit, watching Drumpf declare war on Gaza tonight chills me to the bone. I know there have been protests in LA against the ICE raids, and a large rally at the Treasury building in DC this afternoon, but for some reason I’m not seeing media coverage of these events as I would have expected to during the past administration. There must be rallies and protests happening around the country. Oh wait, there are! You can find events near you HERE.

I wish I had a new puzzle to help me through the coup this week, but I’ll share my journey with the puzzle that helped me through last week when the news felt bad enough — but not this bad — bad enough that I sold some retirement stocks to have a little more cash in that account. Today I withdrew some actual cash from my bank account. I’m grateful that I have a little cushion from years of saving something. I told the teller I was worried about my social security now that Elon Musk has taken over the treasury. And that was even before I learned the details of the kids who have access to the computer system of the entire US money supply. How the fuck did this even happen? In her insightful and inspiring Substack essay tonight, Joyce Vance quotes renowned historian Heather Cox Richardson, “The replacement of our constitutional system of government with the whims of an unelected private citizen is a coup. The U.S. president has no authority to cut programs created and funded by Congress, and a private citizen tapped by a president has even less standing to try anything so radical.” She goes on to write:

“But long-term success is not a foregone conclusion with coups, especially when citizens are unwilling to accept them. Already, we are seeing signs Americans have no intention of letting it happen here. It’s a slow, still-fragile start, but elected officials and American citizens seem to be figuring it out…. There is still plenty of fight left in our democracy, but it’s an all-hands-on-deck moment. This isn’t a coup with tanks in the streets and mobs overrunning government offices. It’s a quieter coup, a billionaires’ coup. Talk with the people around you about what’s happening and what it means if they’re not aware…. Call it what it is: A coup. Let’s make sure it doesn’t succeed.”

It’s taking every single mindfulness skill in my toolbox to get through each day so far this week. I’m making sure to step outside numerous times a day to simply take in a reality more beautiful and fundamental and true than any of the chaos. This is our precious planet, and to wake up alive is a gift. No matter what else happens.

I started the puzzle with the barn because the colors made it obvious; then worked on the tree and the fenceline simultaneously. This puzzle had beautiful color blocks that made grouping the 500+ pieces easy. Since I only glanced at the boxtop before starting, it took me awhile to recognize the Boulder Flatirons as the red rocks in the foothills, and suddenly all the outdoor enthusiasts made even more sense. I wonder what Boulder is doing about the Coup? Did I mention you can find events near you HERE? We are Americans! We aren’t going to stand for this!

I wish I had the luxury to lie around and pick daisies, but that’s the kind of oblivious laziness that Muskrump are counting on the American people to indulge in. We can’t spiritual bypass, we can’t ignore like the bank teller who said, “I don’t pay attention to news,” we can’t stick our heads in the sand of a puzzle. As Oren Jay Sofer writes in his recent book Your Heart Was Made for This:

“When we habitually override our limits and push for productivity, all the while beset with distressing news, permission to do nothing is a welcome relief… But emphasizing relaxation to the exclusion of determination and action is a grave mistake. If we stop at relaxation, we miss the immense benefits of inner cultivation and risk abdicating our responsibilities to one another, future generations, and the planet. Relaxation and ease are essential in life and on the contemplative path, but they must be balanced with wholehearted resolve.”

Right now is the time to rally all your resolve. Action is the antidote to Anxiety. Thousands of excellent leaders are gathering tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of grassroots activists. There is something you can DO, somewhere near you or from the security of your own home. Please just do something! Follow some of these leaders, those who resonate with you, whose voices bring you comfort and inspiration. Subscribe to Jessica Craven’s newsletter Chop Wood, Carry Water to learn a range of actions you can take each day to help protect America from this neo-Nazi takeover. Read this article by Rebecca Solnit to understand how the simplest actions of daily living –like mentioning to a news-phobic teller that there’s trouble in the money world– can make a difference. She may have dismissed me in my ‘Drag is Not a Crime’ ballcap but I bet I got her thinking, at least for a minute.

And, while you still can, savor every single cup of coffee, every single pot of tea, every single cheese sandwich, every single meal you’re blessed to set on your table. Finding stability in the midst of uncertainty is also a form of resistance, and takes practice, courage, and resolve. Seeing reality clearly can be painful but it’s fundamental to wise action. We cannot know what the outcome of this coup will be: unforeseen eventualities and unintended consequences may result in a pleasant surprise. But I imagine that hard times are coming. As Robert Hubbell says, “If you are suffering from a renewed sense of dread, take strength from the fact that we survived the first time around. And take heart from the fact that tens of millions of Americans are battle-tested, dedicated defenders of democracy.” Join them. Join us.

Last week’s Sandwich of the Week involved fried pepperoni that was getting old in the freezer for lack of homemade pizza, and pickled cherry tomatoes from three years ago needing to make room in the pantry. Also avocado, romaine, homemade light rye bread, and Havarti. And of course, God’s gift to the sandwich, mayonnaise. Do something kind for yourself today, and do something strong for our country.