--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin…" description: "\"“Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin. Imagine that it represents the object at which you are grasping. Hold it tightly clutched in your fist and ex..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/sogyal-rinpoche-2963_happiness_let-s-try-an-experiment-pick-up-a-coin-i_1062436.jpg" --- # Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin. Imagine that it… ![“Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin. Imagine that it represents the object at which you are grasping. Hold it tightly clutched in your fist and extend your arm, with the palm of your hand facing the ground. Now if you let go or relax your grip, you will lose what you are clinging onto. That's…” quote by Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/sogyal-rinpoche-2963_happiness_let-s-try-an-experiment-pick-up-a-coin-i_1062436.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/sogyal-rinpoche-2963_happiness_let-s-try-an-experiment-pick-up-a-coin-i_1062436.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/588/sogyal-rinpoche-2963_happiness_let-s-try-an-experiment-pick-up-a-coin-i_1062436.jpg) > ““Let's try an experiment. Pick up a coin. Imagine that it represents the object at which you are grasping. Hold it tightly clutched in your fist and extend your arm, with the palm of your hand facing the ground. Now if you let go or relax your grip, you will lose what you are clinging onto. That's why you hold on. But there's another possibility: You can let go and yet keep REFLECTION AND CHANGE 35 hold of it. With your arm still outstretched, turn your hand over so that it faces the sky. Release your hand and the coin still rests on your open palm. You let go. And the coin is still yours, even with all this space around it. So there is a way in which we can accept impermanence and still relish life, at one and the same time, without grasping. Let us now think of what frequently happens in relationships. So often it is only when people suddenly feel they are losing their partner that they realize that they love them. Then they cling on even tighter. But the more they grasp, the more the other person escapes them, and the more fragile their relationship becomes. So often we want happiness, but the very way we pursue it is so clumsy and unskillful that it brings only more sorrow. Usually we assume we must grasp in order to have that something that will ensure our happiness. We ask ourselves: How can we possibly enjoy anything if we cannot own it? How often attachment is mistaken for love! Even when the relationship is a good one, love is spoiled by attachment, with its insecurity, possessiveness, and pride; and then when love is gone, all you have left to show for it are the "souvenirs" of love, the scars of attachment.”” [Sogyal Rinpoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sogyal-rinpoche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Letting go while retaining insight shows impermanence can be embraced without loss, especially in relationships. **In simple terms:** Release attachment, keep the lesson. Key Takeaway Practice non‑attachment to stay present. Themes attachment impermanence relationships mindfulness Mood calm insightful Type spiritual educational When to use this quote - meditation - relationship counseling - daily mindfulness Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy psychology self‑help Questions to Reflect On - How can you practice letting go without feeling empty? - What does “holding the coin” symbolize for you? A Different Perspective Letting go may feel risky and cause fear of loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clinging Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clinging-hold-2601826/) [Enjoy Attachment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy-attachment-2601825/) [Grasping Hold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasping-hold-2601828/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Hold Arm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hold-arm-2518803/) [Lose Clinging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lose-clinging-2601827/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“You hold me at arm's length.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/you-hold-me-at-arm-s-length/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) > [If a hug repesented how much I love you,Then I would hold you in my arm forever!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-a-hug-repesented-how-much-i-love-you-then-i-would-hold-you-in-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Connor tries to hold her arm to give her support, but she shakes him off and throws him a nasty gaze. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. 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Pick up a coin. Imagine that it represents the object at which you are grasping. Hold it tightly clutched in your fist and extend your arm, with the palm of your hand facing the ground. Now if you let go or relax your grip, you will lose what you are clinging onto. That's why you hold on. But there's another possibility: You can let go and yet keep REFLECTION AND CHANGE 35 hold of it. With your arm still outstretched, turn your hand over so that it faces the sky. Release your hand and the coin still rests on your open palm. You let go. And the coin is still yours, even with all this space around it. So there is a way in which we can accept impermanence and still relish life, at one and the same time, without grasping. Let us now think of what frequently happens in relationships. So often it is only when people suddenly feel they are losing their partner that they realize that they love them. Then they cling on even tighter. But the more they grasp, the more the other person escapes them, and the more fragile their relationship becomes. So often we want happiness, but the very way we pursue it is so clumsy and unskillful that it brings only more sorrow. Usually we assume we must grasp in order to have that something that will ensure our happiness. We ask ourselves: How can we possibly enjoy anything if we cannot own it? How often attachment is mistaken for love! 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