It’s been some time since I’ve written about CoSozo—what it is, how it came to be, and what my fervent hopes are for its future. CoSozo began as all creations do—as an idea, a thought that grew into something meaningful and took form. Since that time when CoSozo was formless and nameless, it has become a beautiful network, reaching thousands of people in different countries across the world. I am extraordinarily proud of CoSozo’s successes and committed to its possibilities for the future.
As many of you who have read previous articles are aware, I am not a medical practitioner, research scientist, or specialist in the health care arena. I am simply a consumer, just like many of you, who is resolved in my belief that what we are doing, throughout the world in general and in the United States in particular, is just not enough. There is simply no reason that we cannot do more for one another to lead better lives, to have better health, to be more fulfilled in all ways—professionally, personally, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
The core belief that brought CoSozo to life is that health and well-being should be the right of each individual, regardless of whether that individual wants to pursue allopathic methods of treatment or alternative methods of treatment. As someone who has lived through the experience of having loved ones face terminal diagnoses, it is beyond comprehension to me that the health care, insurance, and pharmaceutical industries wield the power that they do over life-and-death decisions.
Undoubtedly, our current administration in the United States has had an impact on our financial status, and our economy is currently unsettling, but despite those facts, we have opportunities, in almost every way, here in the United States that many others in the world do not have. We live in the land of the free, the land of opportunities, the land where dreams can come true. We also live in a country where health care is extraordinarily expensive, where even insured individuals can, and often do, face bankruptcy and lose their homes or even their lives as a result of one traumatic health event.
I recently watched the CNN investigation of the American health care system. Programs like those make me crazy. I literally shook my head with disbelief throughout the program. I am completely bewildered and ashamed that we have not done better, that we do not insist that change take place immediately, that we put up with the impact our current health system has on our lives. We simply must do something. There is no reason we should put up with our loved ones dying because they don’t have insurance. One couple that was on the CNN program had a child with serious health needs. They were actually told that the only way they could get assistance was to get divorced and put all of their assets in the husband’s name so the wife and son could be declared eligible for public assistance. I nearly thought for a moment that I was watching a fictional movie, but I quickly regained my senses and embraced my outrage instead.
I do see positive changes happening broadly here in the United States. More individuals are discovering organic foods and focusing on preventive measures including decreasing stress levels through a variety of modalities. Americans are becoming more discerning regarding what they are putting into their bodies and how they are living their lives. They are beginning to take more of an active position regarding their health care and the choices they make for themselves and their families. There is an increased focus on exercise, eating right, and balance in all areas of life. Five years ago, "organic" was not a mainstream concept, and organic food was available at least in smaller markets only marginally. Today, organic and local foods are becoming more widely known and accepted.
I remind myself of these facts and Americans’ growing trend of taking an active part in deciding what they feel is right for their own lives whenever I get disturbed by the lack of progress in our health care and insurance industries. It reminds me (admittedly in some very juvenile ways) of watching a bunch of schoolyard bullies ganging up on the little kid. Everyone else in the schoolyard just stands there watching it happen, as if intervention would have no impact, as if perhaps it’s not really happening or not really wrong. But not intervening is just as wrong.
I find it ironic that the federal government in the United States can spend over $21 billion on economic aid to other countries while American citizens file for bankruptcy due to outrageous health care costs. Obviously, American officials are forgetting the key word: CARE.
Health care in the United States is now is a $2.26 trillion industry, encompassing significant portions of federal, state, and local budgets, as well as a huge private sector market.
I’m not implying that our health care or insurance industries are schoolyard bullies, but they have, through our governmental regulations as well as through Americans’ implied or even active permissions, grown into something that is in many cases hurting people. Are there successes? By all means! There are countless stories that end well, but I don’t believe that as Americans we have required the bar to be placed high enough. We deserve, as human beings, to be treated when we are sick whether we are rich or poor, or in marginal health or catastrophic health. We deserve to be treated whether we believe, after consulting with our health care practitioners and even our own research, that an alternative or an allopathic method will work best. Centuries ago, our founding fathers came to this country to find their voices. They declared that they had certain inalienable rights. As a human being, I believe that one of those inalienable rights is to be allowed to live the fullest lives we can, to make choices for ourselves that we know to be right. I also believe that we have an obligation to help one another.
CoSozo is founded on the idea of helping people. Obviously there is a lot of information that is available in today’s world. Our aim is to bring you information that perhaps you may not have heard of, to inspire you to look into things that you may not have thought of before, to give you ideas that may lead you to a happier, fuller life. Our goal is to connect individuals throughout the world, to bring you information that may be working for one condition in one corner of the world that someone in another corner of the world may be in need of. We are still growing in many ways, and have many more strategic areas that need further development, but our community of health practitioners is spectacular, and we are always seeking more. I’ll be the first to tell you that we don’t have all the answers and that we are constantly seeking more information to share with you. What I do know for sure is that there is not another company out there more passionate about finding some way to ensure that everyone not only gains the right to receive medical treatment when they need it, but can also learn the value of therapies that have been around for thousands of years before we developed pharmaceuticals, as well as the value of allopathic therapies.
One of the areas that we are in the midst of developing is CoSozo’s charitable foundation. There are millions of Americans who cannot afford their medical treatment, who have medical bills they can’t pay, or who just need a break. While CoSozo isn’t yet big enough to relieve all of those bills, we do want to help. Whether our foundation is able to make connections with people who can assist or other organizations who can participate, CoSozo is also dedicated to helping not only with facilitating those connections, but also with some of those financial burdens that quite simply should not be further complicating the health of someone already in crisis.
I reflect back to the CNN investigation that I saw earlier this week and fast-forward to a future when CoSozo’s impact can be felt on a larger scale. I imagine a country—and a world—that come together to help citizens when they are ill, that step in to assist with bills and other necessities so that those with health challenges can focus on regaining their health. I see vast networks of information that can be made available regarding the various methods that can be used to assist our bodies in restoring health. And ultimately, I see a society that places more value on the lives and well-being of its citizens than on how much money can be gained from an individual’s misfortune. As a very wise woman recently said to me, "The time is now." The time is now to embrace change in so many ways for us. It is time to take a look at what is working, and to be willing to get very honest about what’s not.
CoSozo was born out of an intense desire to be a catalyst for change in our ability to make healthy, life-supporting decisions in our own lives and to challenge the allopathic and alternative industries to share and embrace their collective information sets for the betterment of all society. At the end of the day, we all have this one life to live. Taking action to ensure that we all get the best chance we have to live the healthiest, fullest lives we can lead is simply the greatest gift we can give to ourselves and one another.
Join me today at CoSozo, and take action!
~posted by Christine, 9:50 AM
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