Life and Philosophy Archives

The Art of Being Alone

Essays, Life and Philosophy | 01 November 2025

My life choices that I don’t fully regret are: 1) I didn’t rush into relationships, 2) I don’t have many luxuries, and 3) I’m comfortable with being on my own. Many may see this 39-year-old man as a sad case of loserdom, and I don’t fully deny that. I’m fortunate these days for having few problems to stress about, remaining physically healthy, and steadily improving my mental health. While it’s not a life most would want or care for, it affords me the focus on what I value, which is all the reward I need. Very few loners are as lucky. (more…)

Regurgitating the Black Pill

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy | 01 October 2025

Since I added a philosophy category to this blog, I always wanted to tackle this topic. I’ve always been immersed in the connection between pessimism and nihilism and how it leads to ideas like antinatalism and extinctionism. Thankfully, I like learning new things too much to want to exit Planet Earth prematurely. With this piece, I actively purged myself of that desire to no longer be by looking at my nihilism dead in the eye and making it blink first. (more…)

Empathy is Not Toxic

by: Sonny Go

Current Events, Essays, Life and Philosophy, News, Politics, USA | 12 September 2025

As a lot of people like to say these days, ‘free speech’ does not mean ‘free from consequences’. However, I don’t think getting killed should be one of those consequences. While I’m of the opinion that these people who like to challenge their detractors to debates are doing it more as a performance and less as serious discourse, there’s no just reason for Charlie Kirk and his family to have suffered the fate that he did. (more…)

Pro Wrestling: An Oasis in the Desert of the Real

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy, Pro Wrestling | 02 September 2025

Pro Wrestling: An Oasis in the Desert of the Real

Pro wrestling is a niche like no other, and it has been carved out with not a rusty spoon, but a colorful one, yet a spoon nonetheless. Like most other things on this earth, some like it and some don’t. Some take to it right away and some find it an acquired taste, while doubters and detractors line its outer perimeter like a lumberjack match. Every medium has critics, but those who criticize pro wrestling are seemingly more verbose and animated than most other things under the sun. Even pornography doesn’t invite this level of controversy, I feel. (more…)

One Time, Never Again

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy | 26 June 2025

Ichi-go Ichi-e: One Time, One Meeting, Never Again

If there’s one thing I should be doing more, which is to write a lot more on this blog. There are times when I find myself thinking that by not cranking out more material, I’m wasting my days on this earth. Perhaps that’s not a healthy thing to think about, but it does make me feel bad sometimes. This post is a musing on the unpredictability of the future and how we must all make the most of our time on this earth. However, writing for me is a lone endeavor — no one tells me to write other than myself. Perhaps I should spend more time with other people. (more…)

Doing Pointless Things is the Ultimate Freedom

by: Sonny Go

Blog, Life and Philosophy | 21 May 2025

Doing Pointless Things is the Ultimate Freedom

The American sports writer and video producer Jon Bois recently put out another episode of his Pretty Good series titled ‘God Hates a Coward’. It’s about the human race’s love affair with pointlessness, illustrated by a weird historical moment involving a minor league baseball catcher trying to break a world record by catching a baseball dropped from a blimp. Yeah, seems challenging and intense, but why? What’s the point?

Exactly. There is no real point other than doing the thing itself. You ask why, but why not ask ‘Why not?’ It just seemed like a good idea at the time. (more…)

There is No Such Thing as Passive Good

by: Sonny Go

Blog, Life and Philosophy | 07 May 2025

This is a part of a big piece I’ve been working on for the past few months. It’s an idea that requires more research compared to my recent Pillars piece, so I’m taking my time. I’d like to put something out to gauge interest and perhaps even get some feedback. Hopefully, I finish the piece within 2025 and make something bigger out of it. It’s about the eternal question of what good and evil are. There have been tons of answers and interpretations throughout history, and my contribution may be derivative or even pointless. However, I’ll posit here a point that I think is worth thinking about. (more…)

Musashi Miyamoto’s 9 Warrior Principles

by: Sonny Go

Books, Life and Philosophy, Lists, Traditional Marital Arts | 24 April 2025

The Book of Five Rings by Musashi Miyamoto

This is somewhat a book report on one of the earliest books I read during my formative years, which was from around the ages of 16 to 23. While I must admit that I couldn’t make much use of a sizable chunk of the text, I still got some good stuff from The Book of Five Rings that has stuck with me to this day. The most notable part is the nine principles that a warrior must live by. (more…)

Build Skill Pillars for a Well-Rounded Life

by: Sonny Go

Guides, Life and Philosophy | 04 January 2025

Build Skill Pillars for a Well-Rounded Life

This blog post is cutting it really close in looking like a self-help piece. I’m not Tony Robbins who tells people how to accomplish their goals or Robert Kiyosaki who rebukes their fathers for staying poor. While I don’t have the business acumen to tell you how to multiply your money or the wisdom to show how to find inner peace, I do have some ideas on a system for living a more well-rounded life by focusing on a set of skills that best fit every aspect of your being. (more…)

Veteran Artists Don’t Quit When They Should

by: Sonny Go

Art, Life and Philosophy, Opinion, Productivity | 23 October 2024

A major issue I had to deal with in 2024 is the myriad reasons I’ve been told to quit whatever I’m doing for the sake of whatever I’m being told is more important and urgent — taking care of my mother, getting married and settling down, and the futility of what I do. I was told these things by people who know barely anything about how I live and what I do. I can’t ignore their advice for I have two functioning ears and a brain that retains information too well. However, what I can do is review what makes me resolute in pursuing my endeavors and my way of life. (more…)

Assess Your Goals by Examining Your Surrogate Activities

by: Sonny Go

Essays, Life and Philosophy | 11 October 2023

The term ‘surrogate activity’ was coined by the American mathematician and domestic terrorist Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, in his 35,000-word manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future. It was his critique of modern civilization and society as it became during the late 20th century. He was noted not only for his opposition to technology, but also what he saw was pointlessness in modern living that the masses engaged in. Instead of living meaningful lives supporting each other as a society, they immerse themselves in surrogate activities to distract themselves from existential dread and keep them from partaking in things that may matter more in the long term.
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