T R A N C E

I've made this (some-kind) of essay a long time ago. And now, I am republishing it here. The words that is written below is about music, one kind of music that I like. FYI, I like music very much. And TRANCE is one of them. So, here are my reasons why I like TRANCE, and why I pledge myself to TRANCE.

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WHY I PLEDGE MYSELF TO TRANCE?

Why?
I meet some difficulties to answer this question.

I started listen to trance in the early 2002. Back then, I know nothing about any electronic dance music. I thought the electronic music was all the same. And I came out wrong. There are various kinds of EDM in the world. Trance is just one of them.

I try to listen to the other genres, too like: Electro, progressive, house, techno. But, nothing that suits me more than trance.

I listen to quite a few musicians, and some of them become my favorite. Hmm, let's say Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Kyau & Albert, Super8 & Tab, Aly & Fila, Ronski Speed, Rank-1, Markus Schulz, Andy Moor, Gareth Emery, Tiesto, and some others that will make this list too damn long to be read. =P

Trance is the richest kind of music I've ever heard. The melody, the vocal and the beats really fits my soul. Trance can make my mind wondering on its own. Trance can make me calm and relax when madness cloud up my brain. Trance also can lift me up and bring the energy when I feel sad and down. Trance can bright up some inspirations when I am stuck on something. Trance is a very emotional music for me. Trance knocks on my ear, goes to my brain, touches my heart, and then bursts out through my body.

And the best of all, I don't need any chemical substance to experience 'fly' or 'high'. hahaha

As a DJ and (soon to be) electronic dance music producer, that’s why I love and pledge myself to trance.

Maybe that is just me.

How about you? What is your kind of music?

I made this notes just because of some curiosity inside my head. Cheers.

H A P P I N E S S . . . . ? ? ?

Here is my (another) short thought.

HAPPINESS...

The word seems familiar in my head. But when I was asked “what is HAPPINESS?” I find some difficulties in explaining what happiness is.

According to me, in a spontaneous way, HAPPINESS is a personal positive state of mind. Simple, isn’t it? But, my answer is still too general. Then I try to ask around on my twitter. I want to know other people’s definition of HAPPINESS. Big thank you for those who responded to my question: Inda Carmen, Shawn Muljadi, Fauzia Evanindya, Fatthan Sinergy and Naztasha Cesty.

According to Inda Carmen, HAPPINESS is a state of mind. According to Shawn Muljadi, HAPPINESS is a way of life, not a destination. According to Fauzia Evanindya, there’s no need to define what HAPPINESS is, all we need is take a little time just to feel it. According to Fatthan Sinergy, HAPPINESS is a natural feeling that we got if we did something which fits our need, “not less than...” or “not more than...”. And according to Naztasha Cesty, HAPPINESS is simply accepting and thanking.

Everybody seems to have their own opinion about what HAPPINESS is. Then, I turn to a technology called internet. I have search the word HAPPINESS in MSN-Encarta’s website. The result shows that HAPPINES is a state of joy, pleasure, goodness, or satisfaction. Also in MSN-Encarta’s website, I surfed the word ‘happy’ in dictionary. Here were the results:

hap·py [ háppee ] (comparative hap·pi·er, superlative hap·pi·est)

adjective Definition: 1. feeling pleasure: feeling or showing pleasure, contentment, or joy
happy smiling faces

2. causing pleasure: causing or characterized by pleasure, contentment, or joy
a happy childhood

3. satisfied: feeling satisfied that something is right or has been done right
Are you happy with your performance?

4. willing: willing to do something
I'd be only too happy to help.

5. fortunate: resulting unexpectedly in something pleasant or welcome
a happy coincidence

6. tipsy: slightly drunk ( informal )

7. used in greetings: used in formulae to express a hope that somebody will enjoy a special day or holiday
Happy birthday!

8. too ready to use something: inclined to use a particular thing too readily or be too enthusiastic about a particular thing ( used in combination )
trigger-happy

Such a simple word, but has lots of definitions and similarities. Is it enough to define HAPPINESS? For me, it’s not enough. So, after several discussions with several friends (Imam Satria, Stefanus Kurniawan, Shekar Ayu, Anastasya Adi, Ranny Monita, Hakimul Musyaffa, Rosalyn Lohanda, and Muhammad Ichlas Bayu), the word HAPPINESS feels harder to be described. Each indivudual has different story and point of view about the word HAPPINESS. And don’t even start at the comparison to differ between HAPPINESS and pleasure. It can take forever to write all the discussion that was held in 2 or 3 hours. So, I just try to summarize them in my own way. Is that okay? Hehe.

For me, HAPPINESS is a temporal and a very personal satisfaction state of mind that I’ll feel when I succeed at accomplishing my goals when I deserved them.

Why HAPPINESS must be personal? In my opinion, there’s no tools can measure the exact standard of HAPPINESS. The sensation of HAPPINESS is different in every individual. I personally find it very difficult to define HAPPINESS with just 8 other people. How about try to define it with the rest of the world? It can take forever! Believe me.

Why HAPPINESS must be temporal? Also in my opinion, HAPPINESS is a combined feeling when wishes and efforts to get the wishes meet. Different wish with different effort can cause another kind of HAPPINESS. That is why I make a statement that HAPPINESS is temporal, because people have lots of wishes. Am I wrong? Correct me if I am. Why must I present the word ‘effort’ to define HAPPINESS? Because, I believe that HAPPINESS is a reward or appreciation that people get when they successfully achieve something that they longed and deserved. How can you be deserved something effortlessly? I believe it is something non-sense. And if I might add, the ‘reward’ and the ‘appreciation’ should come from our own minds and selves. Because when you feel satisfy with yourself, you already happy.

After all, that was my opinion. How about you? Is there any of you who has another opinion? You can share your thoughts here.