Quote: Life is about learning to control your urges, gaining control of self so that all that physical stuff is no longer important." Oh really? Says who? Perhaps the Stoics
The Stoics have been sadly misinterpreted by our society since this is what we believe they said. Actually, based on my recent reading, I would say NOPkins is the closest thing to a Stoic philosopher on the BB. The Stoics believed that you should be able to calm your anxiety when faced with a situation in which you have bad alternatives by accepting that bad things can and will happen but believing that you have the internal resources to deal with these bad events. Thus, if you are a Stoic you are able to honestly confront your spouse about your unhappiness with your sex life because although you know this may lead to some bad events, you have the emotional resources to cope with these bad events. A Stoic is free to act because a Stoic tells himself that he can deal with the worst case scenario of having dishes thrown at him, watching his wife stalk out the door, living in a shoddy bachelor apartment on a reduced income, missing having the kids around except on the weekend etc..
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver
