a lizard with a broken tail

A lizard can lose its tail without dying; it's not considered a disability. Some things in our lives are similar. We can live without them and not perish. But when we cling to them and refuse to let go, it’s like a lizard that doesn’t shed its tail when it really needs to…

You’ve probably seen it before—sometimes a lizard or a reptile like a gecko moves around without a tail. Many people know that it likely just escaped death, as these creatures have a special survival ability: they can detach their tails to distract predators.

Although the tail can regenerate, it won’t be exactly the same as before. It takes time to grow back, and there are physical differences that can affect the lizard's growth. But these changes are minor compared to losing its life…

Humans may not have tails that can grow back, yet we hold onto many things more tightly than a lizard clings to its tail—things that might not even be essential to our lives. Even though we might lose something, as long as we’re alive, we might be able to create something even better.

Whether it’s losing a partner, money, a job, pride, or even time, we can rebuild, change, find something new, and start again—perhaps even better than before.

But many people refuse to let go, refusing to cut ties, dragging the weight with them until it burdens them to death, even though these things were never part of them from birth.

Why do we, as humans, desire an invisible tail that we can't shed or cut off?