Leslie is our village teamaker. It is his job to make cups of tea, and
this he does with excellence. He hangs around the communal area, the village
centre, the heart of Erleichda, and he will come up to you and say "Would
you like a cup of tea?"
If you say "Yes" Leslie will ask you "Would you prefer
English Breakfast Tea, or Ceylon Tea, or Earl Grey, or Irish Breakfast, or
....." and so on, and whatever you want, Leslie will provide.
Then he'll ask "Weak or strong?", and whatever you want, he'll
qualify it, like this: "Very weak?", or "Very strong?"
Then "Black or white?", and if white "How much
milk?", and "Do you prefer it added before or after?"
Leslie seems to live in a world of endless, overwhelming data, as if
some internal filter doesn't work properly, a filter that makes the world
manageable for the rest of us. So he can't seem to make a decision, because
there are just too many factors to consider before he can do anything, and so
you have to provide every detail for Leslie, and then he will do it. And you'll
get a wonderful cup of tea.
Outside
Erleichda, people like Leslie can get into a lot of trouble. People think
they're lazy, or stupid, or even sexually dangerous, because sometimes they get
so lonely, or so involved in admiration, that they might touch you, or some
other object of their affection. So they tend to be hidden away by relatives or
friends, and they live inside, where they can cope, and life doesn't hold much
hope for people like Leslie.
But in Erleichda, everyone knows him, everyone chooses him to be there,
everyone is responsible. Leslie is part of the family, and he is loved. Just
like idiots have been loved throughout history, before we decided that they
were unacceptable, and had to be looked after either by their blood relatives or
by the state, both of which proved incapable of the task, for one reason or
another.
But in Erleichda, everyone is responsible, and everyone helps. They
don't do it for charity, like the state, and there are enough people involved
that no-one gets overwhelmed.
In Erleichda, every one shares, and it is not a burden. Leslie performs
a useful function, and he feels good about that, and so do we.
As time goes by, Leslie is joining in more and more, and he is very
intelligent, and, increasingly, very good company. Occasionally, he'll even
take a risk and tell you what kind of tea you want, partly because he always
remembers, and partly because, knowing you, and knowing you trust him, and love
him, he feels confident to speak.
So if you come to Erleichda, and Leslie asks if
you would like a cup of tea, be patient, and answer his questions with the
respect which they deserve, and say thank you. You'll get a great cup of tea.
When people ask us how people like Leslie, who seem to see different
realities than most of us, and are therefore of questionable competence when it
comes to making important decisions for themselves, can take the oath of
allegiance, we say that they have chosen to, and that their day to day living
in Erleichda is consistent with their choice. That's all it takes. They are
just as sane, just as competent, as any of the rest of us. We can only judge
them by their actions, because you can't always rely on what they tell you, or
fail to tell you.
In our chosen reality, people like Leslie are valuable, they give us
insight into things we may not have seen, they are an extra dimension, and
worthy of our support. They have taken the oath, they are willing to play the
game. Just like the rest of us, they have their little eccentricities, they
yearn to be loved and understood, they are willing to look at the past and the
present and say "So what, now what?"
They choose not to be victims.
