One of the most striking aspects of principled nonviolence is the way in which it compels us to reconsider our understanding of familiar terms and practices. For instance, our commonplace idea of what it means for something \u201cto work,\u201d or for someone \u201cto win,\u201d or how to distinguish \u201cends\u201d from \u201cmeans\u201d are reconceived when explored through the lens of principled nonviolence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same is true for the word \u201cprayer.\u201d If we think about what it means to pray, we tend to imagine that we send our prayers out from within us towards someone or something else: We have a need or a desire \u2014 some kind of lack \u2014 and we pray for support, we pray to be fulfilled from a source that lies beyond and above our own particular selves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n