The Holidays are a time of celebration, a time for inclusion and a chance for us to get together with friends and family. They brighten our spirits, and our sense of being as we bring closure to the current year.

Sometimes we are thankful the year is ending, maybe because it was a difficult one, while some are grateful to put the finishing touches on a year that brought a lot of joy. Whatever the case may be, the fact that a New Year is about to begin seems to energize even the most pessimistic of us in some little way.

There is magic to the beginning of anything, after all it's a first, a sta...