All creatures do what they must --
only man complains about it.
(Chalk up another one for them mortals!)

And thus a certain chap came to wonder to himself: "Is the mental heroism of which the mystical speaks going against the thinking of the collective – or going against the natural thinking of one's self?"
...And after mulling this for a bit, added: "And is there sufficient distinction for it to make any difference?"

A certain neural warrior once pondered: "With which of the potentially disturbing forces should I be most concerned -- those in the neocortical areas, or those in the limbic territories?" And as he reflected on the matter, he recalled the words of his liege, who noted: "Though fear and uncertainty comes to man by two messengers, its source is one, and those who do not see -- and who cannot remember this -- will never have the ability to separate and isolate their newer, higher potential from their lower, and cruder past. Not by the same things are wolves and men frightened -- least not the same should they be. So let the knights on The Quest protect that within them that is of the superior importance, and that which will not be protected without their conscious attention."

Compared to a more alert man's perception of having to live out his days in man's natural mental condition, physical death presents little fear.

Fairy Tale Chapter Two:
There was once a prince who ruled two kingdoms which lay side by side:
one was learned, verbal, and capable of civilized direction;
the other, cruder, silent, and less predictable and controllable.
But the prince ultimately discovered an invisible connection between the
two which constructively rendered them a single entity.
A prince divided against himself shall not to the throne ascend.

The Way It Is:
The simple act too much by instinct,
and the sophisticated, too much by uncertainty,
which leaves a more alert man to his own devices.

The simple have their heroes (who are always physical),
and the sophisticated (who are forever involved with inconclusive affairs) theirs;
this leaves the more conscious man with but the one choice of him being his own hero.

And this has nothing to do with routine notions of egotism,
but rather is the inevitable result of an increased understanding that
renders all collective models and standards insufficient and obsolete.

What is gained by an individual sheep having no aspiration higher than
that already held by the flock?