Originally Posted by
gneiss 
A Quaker once told me that sometimes it's not possible to get past that negative or violent thought pattern but the next best thing was wanting to get past it. *Shrug*
I greatly admire the Quakers. They as a group have historically made a great many sacrifices in the name of peace and should be honored by us all.
Ghandi created the only proactive word for non-violence:
satyagraha. According to him, the translation is "holding on to truth", or "truth force". Ghandi wrote, "Nonviolence is a perfect stage. It is a goal towards which all mankind moves naturally, though unconciously." He believed that it is the work towards this unattainable goal that matters, which is pretty much what you were told.