My wife and I did something different this year for the turning of the millennium. We stayed at home and went with Peter Jennings to see celebrations around the globe. We were fascinated with the diversity of cultures all rolling in the New Year as a worldwide, shared experience.

Did you see some of the Festivities? Which one was your favorite? Do you think anyone will see the Eiffel Tower again without remembering the spectacular firework display?

What struck me during the televised coverage was the unity of purpose, while the whole world celebrated the old and the new. An integrated, global culture watched to see if Y2K fears were valid or if terrorist attacks posed a threat. For a night and a day onlookers of every ethnic, religious and cultural background stood together to ring in the new millennium.

Unity takes maturity. It also requires that we overcome our selfish nature. Unity is necessary to our personal development, to successful relationships and to living in harmony with the world.

Hatred, prejudice and blame are barriers to unity. I read a report that one third of all the countries are now at war with each other. It's easy to point an accusing finger at those who carry on bitterness and hurt, but are we honest enough to recognize those seeds in our own hearts?

Love and fear work toward opposite ends. To any extent that anger, animosity and insecurity rule our actions, we plant the seeds of destruction in our relationships. Dave Barry said, "A person who is nice to you, but rude to the waiter, is not a nice person." At the very core of our beings, we are either loving, or we are not.

A good self-test is to look at the last time you were angry. How did you handle the situation? How do you deal with your loved ones when you're impatient or upset? In that moment, do your actions come from love? We can choose either course: we can blame, belittle and find fault. Or we can be patient, kind and understanding.

The world's problems and solutions are made up of little things in every person's heart. Wars are fought because of individual's intolerance for each other. World peace and unity are possible only if they can be found in our own hearts. Each of us makes the difference by the way we treat those around us.

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