Autotomy
The process by which lizards regrow their injured and discarded tails is called autotomy. There are planes along which the lizard’s tail snaps off. Meanwhile, the lizard contracts his muscles, minimizing the bleeding from his wound. The regeneration of his tale begins immediately.
After witnessing a young friend have her heart excised, slammed to the ground, trampled, and spat upon by her girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend, obviously) … after hearing similar tales of betrayal and deceit at the table where we sat trying to console our despondent friend … after wondering how anyone could be so adept at such icy cruelty and pathological deception, I realized that our hearts must be capable of autotomy as well.
We tighten up and try to minimize the bleeding. In the warmth of the support of our friends and with even a minimal trace of optimism, our hearts begin to regenerate.
Mean people truly do suck, but they can’t permanently crush our hearts and they can’t steal our dreams.
