It’s the season when people think of family, harmony and peace. No matter what holiday you celebrate in the winter season, you probably dream of a world without war, hatred and hostility. Many people have imagined such a world, and while it seems far off, there are glimmers of hope every day that we might live in peace. These 11 quotes remind us that peace isn’t a dream. It does take work, and while we may not fully experience it in our lifetime, what we do matters.

1. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

—Martin Luther King

2. If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.
   
   —Bayard Rustin, civil rights activist and contemporary of Dr. King

3. Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.
   
   —Martin Luther King

4. Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will be as one.

—John Lennon

5. Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth

—Menachem Begin, sixth prime minister of Israel, 1978 Nobel Peace laureate

6. World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.
   
   —Dalai Lama XIV, 1989 Nobel Peace laureate

     7. If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

—Nelson Mandela, 1993 Nobel Peace laureate

8. If you want to end the war then Instead of sending guns, send books. Instead of sending tanks, send pens. Instead of sending soldiers, send teachers.

—Malala Yousafzai, 2014 Nobel Peace laureate

9. Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.
   
   —Hafsat Abiola, Nigerian peace activist who lost both of her parents in tragic circumstances

   10. We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.

—Howard Zinn, historian and World War II veteran who later developed an anti-war stance

11. I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.
    
    —Helen Keller, political activist for women’s suffrage, labor rights and antimilitarism, despite being blind and deaf