Wonder is the joy of identification and union: pain, the sense of isolation, conflict and contradiction. . . . We experience wonder when we seek to open ourselves to others. We experience pain when we discover differences, contradictions, and the threat and promise of change. If we are not open to wonder and to pain, then we deny ourselves any true interaction with another — this is the very stuff of soul-making. We suffer the terrible boredom of experiencing only ourselves. When we are frightened of experiencing others, something in the soul begins to die. A capacity for wonder and a readiness for pain are essential for the life of the soul. And the place where such capacity and readiness are fostered is in prayer.
— Alan Jones, Soul Making