SullivanFrechette501

When a very popular radio show host died suddenly it seemed as if the whole country was grieving. Although he could have been described by people who didn't know him as 'just a DJ' he had become much more than that to his listeners simply because of his openness and honesty. Most of the thousands of people who sent messages of sympathy and signed the books of condolences had never met or even spoken to the man, and yet they all felt that they knew him. They all felt connected in some way and they all felt that they had lost a dear friend.

This was not a powerful business person, a political leader or a religious icon.

He was an ordinary family man who generously shared his frailties, his anxieties, his joys and his sorrows with the listeners every day.

The topics he covered ranged from the bizarre to the heartbreaking to the comical and everything in between, just like life. His deep honesty was instantly recognisable and addictively attractive because people recognised themselves, their experiences and their lives in him.

He was a real example of somebody acutely aware of their humanity.

What resonated was his honesty, not always his opinions. The attraction of that honesty was such a powerful force that it moved a nation to tears as his loss was felt. Many felt something inside them had died as the beauty of a man willing to speak from the true place within his heart was no longer in the public domain.

It is interesting to see that when somebody presents them selves in a public forum and shows the honest nature of what they really are we all gravitate towards them. What really attracts is that we are seeing a reflection of our selves, complete with the frailties and doubts we all experience on a daily basis.

As we see it we recognise a part of our own honest hearts, maybe hidden from our world but waiting to shine through.

We so often suppress this honesty yet we recognise and appreciate it in others, and then suppress it once again in our own sad selves.

It is as if the open lives of people like this broadcaster can ease the pain of our own denial as he becomes the reflection of a reality we long for. We hope, within our own story, that someday, somehow we can express our beliefs and our conviction so openly. He served that purpose of illumination for all who tuned in to his show every morning.

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If there is one lesson to take from a life such as his it is to be truthful and fair to our own self. His message was one of profound honesty, not always politically correct but always honest - a feature that attracted a listenership of millions as people were captivated by his integrity in whatever topic he covered.

We can all do this in our own personal broadcast to the world, in the daily show that is life.

The abiding legacy of this broadcaster is his deep connection with his listeners emanating from his honesty and expression of truth, openness, inclusion and above all a true sense of being limitless in what he could explore through his world.

Learn to be limitless in all you are and especially in the value you put on your own world with one small caveat; 'I will always be honest'.