Honest but still optimistic

TODAY we mark this week’s 70th birthday of one of the most consistently provocative and insightful artists of our time.

Bob Dylan has been a constant in contemporary culture for nearly half a century, moving some people profoundly, leaving others cold and disinterested.

He has been socially, politically and emotionally challenging for decades. His work can be scathingly honest.

It is a spiritual, uplifting force for most of those who have followed his ever changing career since the early 1960s.

He has embraced and discarded many styles of music and religion. He has remained constantly curious. Very few artists of any age can match the relentless energy of his search to try to understand what makes us what we are.

It may be that his greatest quality is that he can see humanity for what it is and remain hopeful.