What's your identity (and religion)? [not a security post]

Yes, what is your identity? We immediately think of the country we were born (the nationality), the religion (or a sub division of it) we follow, the ethnicity, the cast to which we belong, our parents, our siblings, the native languages we speak, our skin color, our height, etc. don't we? But wait...if you come to think about it, we pretty much don't have control over any of the above attributes; we don't have control over who our parents are, where we are born and so on; YET we not only label ourselves using those attributes, but sometimes, go so far as to start an arms struggle based on the differences in these attributes. Look at the current news -- most of the conflicts are due to these attributes -- the attributes we did not earn ourselves, but GIVEN to us (different religions interpret how this inheritance works differently -- but the underlying core is the same -- there should be some source of energy which does everything in such an orderly manner -- some of which are beyond human imagination) It is also sad to see that we discriminate people based on these labels that they don't have control over; high cast or low cast, black or white, short or tall, and so on. Your nationality is not your identity, and so are the skin color, the religion (literally), mother tongue, etc.

So, what exactly is your identity? Identity is something that you build yourself with a good intention and over which you have control. And that serves the greater good. Most religions I know of teach us to build this identity. However, looking at the current affairs, the religious identity is gravely misunderstood. This religious label is not your identity. Your religion becomes your identity only when you are truly honest to yourself (for example, treat everyone with the same spoon irrespective of the uncontrollable attributes) and truly care to make the world a better place to everyone (for example, by sharing your knowledge, wealth, etc., by raising your voice in a peaceful manner for the oppressed, the weak, etc.). In short, don't be evil. I hope this post gave you some food for thought.