Identities!

Who/What do you associate/identify with? 

How many groups/entities s can we simultaneously associate/identify strongly with? 

Well, to answer this question we first need to draw a distinction between association and identification.  We can associate with lots of groups/entities but needn´t necessarily identify with, and advocate everyone of them.  

Does this mean that ´association´ is characterized by emotional detachment? I don´t think so!

I feel  both association and identification are value words- they have an element of emotional attachment involved, though in different degrees.

I identify with myself and my family. I am shaped by them!

I associate with some individuals/teams who I am with, or have come across-  I somehow get intertwined with them and their mark stays on with me But I can´t turn around and say ´I identify with them´.

Sometimes  I find an expectation that if you are associated with something, you must also identify with it and even advocate it.  I´ve seen such expectations manifest across institutions, colleges, teams, functions, and groups I have been a part of. Such an expectation doesn´t necessarily resonate with me.

We supposedly at any time can identify strongly with maximum 2 entities. That´s what probably defines some of anomalies/confusion at work place/in life e.g. – we identify with our team and function (but probably not with company), we identify with our family and country (but probably not with state/region we come from).

So at any point of time I can be associated with lots of people/groups, but I will probably identify strongly with 2-3 groups only!

Which identity do we seem to choose when there are conflicts amongst our different identities?

I´m not sure. Probably the answer is case specific.

How might a relationship characterized by identification sound/feel like?

I recently met an old buddy after 3 years.  We spent a couple of hours with each other, immersed and seeped in conversation. Time flew by and soon we bid each other adieu. Our conversation stands etched in my memory.  

And so do conversations we had the second last time we had me ( back in 2008) and first time we had met (back in 1999).

Sometimes it is not number of hours you spend with someone that determines identification;  rather  it´s quality of time spent.

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Sourav