Why We Need Heroes by Caroline Myss  In an ideal world, children
are loved and nurtured by their parents. Parents are responsible
for teaching their children moral codes, right behavior,
respect, discipline, and all the other basic life skills
essential to the early years of life.  Yet, while we are
learning these fundamental lessons from our parents and
teachers, another skill is awakening in us organically — our
survival instincts. Somewhere around age seven, the instinct to
survive kicks in just like clock work in every human being.  The
survival instinct is part of our animal nature. It’s a gut
instinct that functions faster than reason. It activates our
fight or flight mechanism. It sends feelings to our gut that
tell us that the stranger walking down the street is dangerous
or not. It tells us that we need to leave room or stay. Our
survival instinct matures as we do; that is, as we become more
able to respond to it, to trust it more, we rely upon it more.
All great heroes are great because they rely u