A good cup of tea

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.