For popular singer, creativity's the ticket up and out

By Roya Camp
New Thought News Service

Self-expression was Zain Bhikha's way out of apartheid South Africa and into a life of music. He spent the weekend at the Parliament, talking about how important it is for young people to tap their creativity – and modeling the results of his own lifelong experiment in just how far personal creativity can reach.
Bhikha was 19 when a childhood friend was shot and killed. And while he'd always had a passion for singing, he hadn't tapped into music as a vehicle through which to explore emotions and feelings.
He'd never had musical training but decided to enter a song competition. He won, and went on to record a first album, of Islamic songs.
That album caught the attention of Yusuf Islam, known more commonly to the non-Muslim world as Cat Stevens. Bhikha has since recorded other albums, and travels widely to perform his Islamic pop and nasheed music.
In his weekend Parliament youth workshop, "The Art of Creative Expression," Bhikha spoke about the importance of letting young people have the latitude to do the sort of exploring he'd done.
"They're so afraid of being judged. Unfortunately, we judge our young people all too quickly," he said.
His advice for youths?
• Take a chance.
• Have passion and belief.
• Respect all people.
Bhikha chose to channel complex feelings about apartheid and the death of his friend in constructive, creative ways. This weekend, he said, and showed, that response is an individual decision.
"Sink or swim? Become bitter or better?" Those, for him, are the questions. It's up to us to know the answers.
"You decide," he said. "Don't blame anyone else for who you are."