MILLENNIUM ESSAY CONTEST WINNERS; LOOKING FOWARD FIRST PLACE WINNER: RELATIONS COUNT

On Dec. 31, 1999, one tick of the clock at 11:59:59 p.m. will usher in the new millennium. Several experts predict we can look forward to unprecedented prosperity and unimaginable technological advances.

But unless we make changes in our inability to relate to one another, Jan. 1, 2000, will simply be another day. Unless we challenge the misinformed differences that divide us, we're shackled to the past and condemned to repeat it. Unless we are willing to transform the essence of how we live together in community, we're all just a day older and life will basically remain the same.

The advent of the new millennium offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to examine what we want from life. Much more than simple, self-serving resolutions for a new year, the new millennium presents us with a fresh occasion to create the quality of life we want for our children and grandchildren.

There is a story of a rabbi who lost his family in the Holocaust. As he immigrated to America, he made it a point to forgive Adolf Hitler and consequently forget the heinous crimes Hitler committed against the Jewish people.

"Its hard to forgive," the rabbi reflected. "Not forgiving keeps us angry and anger makes us feel more powerful. But if we don't forgive, we stay emotionally handcuffed to the person who hurt us." To his incredulous listeners, the rabbi explained he came to America for a fresh start. He did not want to bring Hitler to America with him. He wanted to be free. He chose to forgive.

We will only be as free as we choose in the new millennium. The obligations we insist on carrying with us as we cross the threshold into the year 2000 only mortgage the future of our children. Lets check that baggage at the terminal and hope the Y2K bug reroutes it to points unknown.

A wise old teacher was instructing his students. He posed the question, "How do you know when night turns into day?" One of his students offered, "When you look out into the field, and you can tell if the animal is a sheep or a dog." The old teacher shook his head.

Another student suggested, "Is it when you look at a tree and you can tell if the fruit is an orange or a fig?" The old teacher shook his head again.

"You are both wrong," the teacher said. "Night turns into day when you look at a person and you know in your heart that the person is your brother or your sister." We hold the power to radically transform our relationships and make the millennium new. We stand on the threshold of creating a completely new way of life that will set the direction for generations yet to come.