Old? GET OUT! New? Bring it on... :)

Or phrased another way, "Out with the old and in with the new." This is the mantra billions of people worldwide have been saying to them as the new year passed from 2011 to 2012.- BY Chris Cade
People have made resolutions to be different than they were. To lose weight, meditate more, save money, work harder, start a new business, start a new relationship, exercise more, judge others less, begin personal transformation programs, and so on and so forth. The list goes on.
What I find interesting is how all this relates to forgiveness. Most people have the idea that forgiveness is something they give to another person. "I forgive you for hurting me" we might say to a friend or family member.
But that's not true forgiveness. True forgiveness is "out with the old and in with the new." It is a letting go of what was to make space for what is. Real forgiveness is the opportunity to see what lies here and now without being clouded by the memories of the past. Put in financial terms: "Past performance does not predict the future."
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying to just discard memories. Forgetting means not learnng the lesson. Ignoring the past is choosing to remain ignorant. What I'm suggesting is that we can learn the lessons without carrying the emotional baggage. We can get on the metaphorical airplane and visit new places, see new sights, without having our attention be 'back home' so to speak.
This is important when we think about new years resolutions. Are you trying to lose weight because you have emotional baggage about the past? People teased you (or you teased yourself)? Are you trying to earn more money because you're tired of being poor or disappointing others?
If so, there's nothing wrong with that. Those are all valid reasons to want change. The thing is, by using the past reasons as justification for future actions, we are choosing not to live in the present moment. We are choosing NOT to forgive. We are choosing to have the past dictate our future.

What if we looked at it through the lens of true forgiveness?

That would mean looking at who and how we are... right now. Exactly right now. Then allowing our heart, mind, and body --together in unison--inform us of what is best for us in the present moment. Maybe you would still try to lose weight or earn money.

The difference is, it wouldn't be a reaction to the past. It wouldn't be trying to avoid being who you were or avoiding the experiences you used to have. Losing weight could instead be for the purpose of feeling a greater sense of aliveness and vitality.

The goal of "losing weight" could become "experiencing more physical energy." Earning more money could transform into the goal of "creating more abundance that I can share with others."
In other words, by truly "forgiving" yourself, decisions to change would come from a place within you that says "This is what I authentically want... because it's right, and not because of my troubled past."

This is a substantial shift. It moves away from a lack mentality of what you don't want (the past) and into a heart-centered abundant space of what you want to experience more of in your life.
The difference is subtle. Some would call it semantics...
I consider it fundamental.