Covenant-Please Read

[Guest guest]

Dear WTOAdultChildren List Members,

Spring is here! My flowers are blooming and I can hear the buzz of

lawn mowers each evening. The arrival of Spring often means a time

of renewal, rejuvenation, and growth.

The Welcome to Oz Online Community for Family Members with a

Borderline Loved One remains strong and has been growing. We now

reach over 3,000 members through our 20 neighborhoods (lists).

In thinking about the mission of the WTO Community and the

individual neighborhoods (the lists) this past winter, we (the

administrators of the lists) thought about who we are and how do we

want to be together and support each other on our lists. The result

is the Covenant below. The Covenant itself may be new, but the

ideas and promises it comprises are simply a renewal and affirmation

of how we have been treating each other until now.

The Covenant will be sent out to each group on a monthly basis and

you can always access it in the Files section of the group home

page. The Covenant does not replace the Group Guidelines, but

compliments them.

I urge you to read the Covenant immediately and to live out its

principles when you are interacting with other list members.

Feel free to comment on the Covenant with in your groups. You may

also contact me personally with any questions or comments

(@...).

Thank you,

R.

List Manager, The Welcome to Oz Online Community for Family Members

with a Borderline Loved One

The Covenant of the Welcome to Oz Online Community

for Family Members with a Borderline Loved One

" The places in which we are seen and heard are holy places. They

remind us of our value of human beings. They give us the strength to

go on. Eventually, they may even help us to transform our pain into

wisdom. "

Naomi Remen

A covenant is a promise that we, the members of the Welcome To Oz

(WTO) online community, make to each other to keep our community and

its " neighborhoods " (different lists) a safe place where all feel

welcome.

We are a diverse community of people who share a common bond—we are

struggling with the confusion, stress, and pain of having a family

member with Borderline Personality Disorder.

Our community is a place where questions and doubts can be raised in

an environment of acceptance and trust. We are each given the

opportunity and gift to learn more about ourselves, validate one

another, and be reminded that we are not alone in our struggle.

Whether we are old-timers or new members, we are here to help each

other laugh when we're feeling down and cry when something hits

home. The support we will get here, sometimes even more than

anything else, helps us change our life for the better.

We strive for compassionate, non-judgmental listening, courtesy, and

respect for one another as we share our feelings, experiences, and

ideas. To this end, we promise to one another to keep our sharing

confidential, to understand we're all at different places in our

lives, and to work through disagreements in good faith with the help

of the List Manager if needed.

This is our covenant.