Tea at Trianon: Boring but Helpful Advice

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Saturday, May 23, 2026

Boring but Helpful Advice

From Of Home and Womanhood:

Go to bed early
Seriously, stop scrolling, stop distracting yourself with mindless unimportant things and go to bed. It is such painfully boring advice which is reason why nobody wants to hear it, but an embarrassing amount of human suffering is made worse simply because you are tired. Parents, how many times do you not see your child extra fussy, crying, throwing an extra fit and you say “they are just tired”, and you think you’re that different? No my dear friend, you are not, you don’t just need a snickers for your hanger, you need a nap and an early bedtime.
Going to bed early will not solve every problem in your life, but it will make you more capable of facing them like a sane person. When you are well rested you can think more clearly, regulate yourself better, have more patience, make better decisions, and are much less likely to spiral over things. Lots of people are not failing at life, we are just tired, overstimulated, and staying awake for way too long.
Touch some grass
seriously, go touch some grass, if you happen to live out in the desert like me don’t touch some cactus, touch some dirt, get outside, get in the sun, go sit in the breeze, go out listen to the birds, breathe in some fresh air, quite literally touch some grass.
and I know this sounds so stupid because it is so simple, but it works and it works because it is so simple. We live under artificial lights, inside climate-controlled boxes, staring at glowing rectangles, consuming thoughts, opinions, anxieties, tragedies and all the nonsense of people we will never meet, and yet we wonder why we feel insane. Your body and your mind my dear friend were not meant to spend all of their time indoors marinating on wifi and a constant stream of bad news.
Sunlight alone affects our bodies more than people realize, morning light helps regulate circadian rhythm which means better sleep at night, better energy for the day and stable mood. Vast majority of people are severely deficient in vitamin D, which is directly linked to mood and immune function. Being outside especially around trees and natural environments has been shown to lower cortisol levels, which if you do not know cortisol is our stress hormone, being outside reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression. Even something as simple as looking outside and admiring natural landscapes has been shown to improve function and reduce mental fatigue, our brains literally reset when we aren’t staring at screens.
And there is also the added obvious bonus which is — movement. When you go outside you usually end up walking, standing, moving, getting your blood flowing, that alone improves our mood, our focus and energy in ways we now try to replicate by coffee and energy drinks. The problem is that we have built a life that is completely out of sync with how our bodies are meant to function, you don’t need a fancy spiritual retreat and thousands of dollars on spiritual gurus and supplements, you quite literally just need to go touch some grass. (Read more.)