Not a Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu

Buddhist, sufi, or zen.  Not any religion

or cultural system.  I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all.  I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any

origin story.  My place is placeless a trace
of the traceless.  Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being

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You live in time; we live in space. 

You're always on the move; we're always at rest.

Religion is our first love; we revel in metaphysics. Science is your passion; you delight in physics.

You believe in freedom of speech; you strive for articulation. We believe in freedom of silence; we lapse into meditation.

Self-assertiveness in the key to your sucess; self-abnegation is the secret of our survival.

You're urged every day to want more and more: we're taught from the cradle to want less and less.

Joie de vivre is your ideal; conquest of desires is our goal;

In the sunset years of life, you retire to enjoy the fruits of your labour; we renounce the world and prepare ourselves for the hereafter.

Reflections on Life East and West - by Hari N. Dam, Professor of Philosophy at Brigham Young University, USA. Ensign Magasine 1971