Have We Forgotten What Identity Really Is?

A bit of etymology :)

The word identity comes from a Latin root that meant sameness — pointing, perhaps, to what remains unchanging beneath all appearances.

In its deepest sense, I believe this originally referred to something very real:
→ the unchanging presence behind our experiences,
→ the simple, infinite I am-ness that is not defined by personality, roles, or stories.

But somewhere along the way, we misinterpreted it.

We became identified with the ego-personality, with the temporary patterns of thought, feeling, memory, and behavior.

And so we began to use identity to mean something quite different:

• our roles,

• our image,

• our life story,

• our social labels.

Then came the struggle: we wanted this constructed identity to stay consistent, unchanging, even though personality by nature is impermanent and fluid.

And when change inevitably comes, we fear it. We resist it. We suffer.

But there is a deeper peace available. The Zen teachers were not wrong:

Personality is changing. The real you isn’t.

The true “identity” is not who you think you are.It is simply that you are.

Perhaps remembering this is the beginning of real freedom and fearlessness.

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This is what I found about the etymology of the word Identity:

👉 idem (Latin) → same
👉 identitas (Late Latin) → quality of being identical, sameness
👉 passed through French → became identity in English (mid-16th century).

But notice something interesting:

“Identical” in its root, doesn’t mean "having a particular content."
It means: the same across appearances, across conditions.

In other words: continuity.

Originally, identity pointed toward that which is unchanging beneath change — not a role or a story.

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I hope you like this reflection and I wish you a good start of the week.

Love,

Jose.