When faced with death…whether it’s the death of the physical body or the “death” of the dream of being a separate me…the mind will grab for something, anything, to hold onto. 
It often grabs at false identities, trying to solidify a sense of ‘me’. It does this by clinging to personal identities, group identities, and by making up extra doses of meaning and purpose it can apply to me-and-my-life.
This makes perfect sense from the perspective of a mind whose job it is to keep “you” intact. But since there is no solid “you” outside of your mind, it’s all for naught. There is nothing to keep intact. In fact, freedom is in nothing being bound or intact.
