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Some might argue that peace -- a world without war -- is unattainable without the intervention of aliens or highly functioning, discriminate robots. And it is true that throughout history some have taken the high road, advocating for peace and harmony, only to be struck down.

But maybe the problem lies with the approach. Over and over, throughout history, wars have raged ending with a winner and loser. But the final outcome has never been world peace.

While world peace is extremely desirable, as many a beauty queen has attested, the blueprint to achieve world peace begins much more humbly than the answer to a pageant question or a State of the Union speech.

After months of gaining weight and crying at the end of insurance commercials during the Super Bowl while eating hot wings dipped in guacamole, the moment finally arrives. A living, breathing child is born. The mother, after her body has been mangled and misshapen, looks into the eyes of her newborn and experiences peace.

The father, after watching his beautiful bride turn into a hormonal beast worthy of a Stephen King character and then being called horrible names during the delivery, looks into the eyes of his newborn and experiences peace.

Within hours, the living, breathing newborn becomes a living, breathing, eating, crying, insatiable baby. However, the parents must continue to be diligent in their quest for peace.

Peace is found watching a sleeping baby, but only after endless hours of feeding, changing and consoling the wrinkly "bundle of joy." Peace is found in that first sip of coffee in the morning, but only after 15 interruptions during the night because of the hungry baby ... the restless toddler ... the frightened 7-year-old insisting there is a monster in the closet.

Peace is evident on the faces of each parent during high school commencement, but only after endless battles over homework and grades, 13 years of bedtime enforcement and thousands of morning negotiations regarding a healthy breakfast.

No one can deny the peace that settles in when the kids have grown and moved away after years of messy rooms, globs of jelly on the counter, wet towels on the bathroom floor and popcorn kernels stuck in crevices of the living room furniture.

Peace descends when all the bills are paid and there is money left, but only after weeks, months or years struggling to make ends meet. Peace exists the morning after all the relatives go home, but only after a loud, obnoxious family reunion during which a heated debate ever the type of car grandpa had in 1929 wakes the neighbors.

I could go on and on about finding peace, but the issue at hand still remains: How does the peace we find individually translate into world peace?

In my humble opinion, it is what we do with our experiences of peace as we interact with others that can make a difference. By internalizing the calm joy of peace, and pulling from that feeling when interacting with the cashier who never bothers to get off the cell phone while ringing up your peanut butter and pancake syrup or the boss who takes credit for your achievements, one can approach life's frustrations with a positive attitude.

This good-natured, neighborly approach, if used consistently, can have a great impact. Some will be so shocked by your genuinely nice demeanor in the face of friction that they will think twice about their negative behavior. Some will "catch" the positive energy and pass it along to others.

Sure, many will not change their ways after one or two encounters. But if more and more people seek out peace, and then consistently and intentionally draw from it when needed, more and more peace will be created. With more and more peace available, it will become easier and easier to find peace and pass it along.

From that first face-to-face meeting between a newborn and his or her parents, the first seeds of peace are planted. All we really need to do is fertilize and water it, keep out the weeds, and let it grow. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to sing a few versus of "Kum Ba Ya," for good measure.

Of course, for all of the skeptics out there, there's always the option of programming robots to rid the planet of aggression, thereby leaving only "peace." But considering the number of times my computer freezes, the trouble I've had getting my cell phone to retrieve and send e-mail and my countless efforts to reboot our router so our wireless Internet will work, I have to say that my faith in technology is not nearly as strong as my faith in the goodness of people.

Micki Bare is a columnist for the Arkansas News Bureau and the Courier-Tribune in Asheboro, N.C., and author of the book, "Relative Expressions." She lives in Asheboro with her husband and three children. Her e-mail address is mickibare@inspiredscribe.com.