"For countless centuries, it seems, the East has been crowded with people living very close to one another. Cities had narrow streets where merchants and travelers were elbow to elbow. This closeness has created the need for a sacrament of consideration and courtesy. Whenever people are crowded closely together in customer-filled stores at Christmas time or in modern apartment houses, they need to remember that we live on more than just bread. Our lives are also fed by kind words and gracious behavior. We are nourished by expressions like 'excuse me' and other such simple courtesies. Our spirits are also richly fed on compliments and praise; nourished by consideration as well as whole wheat bread. Rudeness, the absence of the sacrament of consideration, is but another mark that our time-is-money society is lacking in spirituality if not also in its enjoyment of life. Gracious behavior is due to the elderly, to the stranger, and to those who serve us. I do not here refer to house servants but to persons in service-related occupations. In countless ways we are waited upon, served, and cared for in our modern society. These service-persons are just that — persons and not robots. We express our belief in their personhood by the sacrament of courtesy. As well, we are enlivened and healed by that expression of respect, dignity, and gracious kindness that flows from the heart."