Many times, you’ll hear someone say ,” I can identify with that “

But who or what should we identify with ?  Our childhood, our youth ,our middle age , or old age ?  Or how about our political leanings  ?  Which  political movement  suits us  ? left leaning,  right leaning, or centre ground ? Persons are forever  changing who or what they identify with . Sometimes someone is our friend sometimes the same  person becomes our enemy , sometimes someone is very attractive as a partner to us , and a short time  later we reject them , and find someone else . The Vedas indicate that the minds   business is forever accepting and rejecting the  sense objects . This world of ever fluctuating duality has to be understood , and the real observer should learn to advance the consciousness to a state beyond the duality of material life , when we examine the disturbances of dualities  , we  begin to realise such states  occur because of excess and our own  selfish motivations , we , at that point  can climb higher in consciousness , and begin to contribute real  happiness to others , without  selfish calculations and ultimately undertake the ultimate sacrifice,  contributing  happiness in the planes of Divinity.  Sacrificing for the  sake of others without considering my own feelings is an elevated state .  You’ll be pleased to hear such a sacrifice becomes very rewarding as the universal material and spiritual energies work in such a way that nothing goes in vain .

The Vedas encourages us to dive deeper into states of consciousness and explore a different sort of happiness , a happier  state of mind , beyond the sense of  sense satisfaction that even animals can easily obtain . The Vedas encourages us to consider whether we are boy , a  girl , young , old , black ,white ,  rich, poor, intelligent, or not so ? , or are we just an  observer of such conditions that are thrown upon us? And are we becoming overly  affected , because of selfishness.

Let’s see what Sastra say .

nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā
kintu prodyan-nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ

Translation

“ ‘I am not a brāhmaṇa, I am not a kṣatriya, I am not a vaiśya or a śūdra. Nor am I a brahmacārī, a householder, a vānaprastha or a sannyāsī. I identify Myself only as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the maintainer of the gopīs. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.’ ”

This verse , with Vedic terms for our  different social status  and stages of life , offers an insight into the permanent identity of a soul in a  specific relationship with Divinity , This may be a little esoteric for many to understand,  but the principle is given , you are not the body , not the changing mind , not a  deteriating and frustrated intelligence , but something beyond material calculations , and this super subjective realm is understood by sacrifice,  and the ultimate sacrifice is one of pure service to Divinity , in a  cooperative spirit , with others who have similar goals. 

The Vedas delineate many other permanent relationships , that have nothing to do with atoms ,elements or compounds or an ethereal ever-changing mind and intelligence.

The original consciousness belongs in a permanent identity, which is ever new and ever enthusiastic to exchange love and as the song goes

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

There’s a land that I heard of

Once in a lullaby

Maybe your fairy tale child hood imaginings have something to them

Read the Vedas to find out yourself,  literally.