Time & Perspective Quote by Eknath Easwaran

Easwaran isn’t selling attention as a personality trait; he’s treating it as a trainable moral skill. The phrasing is almost quietly radical in a culture that talks about focus as either a genetic gift or a productivity hack. “Through meditation” signals the method, but “by giving full attention to one thing at a time” broadens the prescription into everyday life: washing dishes, listening to a friend, reading a page without grazing five tabs. The intent is practical spirituality, not mysticism - a manual for reclaiming agency.

The subtext is a critique of modern default settings. If attention can be “direct[ed] where we choose,” then distraction isn’t just unfortunate; it’s an abdication. Easwaran’s gentle syntax (“we can learn”) dodges shame and self-optimization bravado. He frames attention as learnable, which implies patience, repetition, and the humility to start small. That’s a rebuke to the instant-gratification economy without ever naming it.

Context matters: Easwaran, known for translating and popularizing Indian spiritual traditions for Western audiences, often wrote for people trying to live ethically amid speed, noise, and ambition. In that light, “one thing at a time” isn’t a cute mindfulness slogan; it’s a discipline against fragmentation. The line works because it flips the common story: life doesn’t steal your focus; you can be taught to place it. That promise is both comforting and demanding - freedom, with a practice attached.