When I looked at the essays written by some of the aspiring Olympic torchbearers, I was so moved that I compared them to the stories from the best-selling motivational series American Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Residents in Qinhuangdao, one of the co-host cities for the upcoming Olympic soccer matches, gather to see the 2008 Olympic torch in September. [China Daily]

First, the short stories and essays are inspirational. They concern weighty topics like love, hope and pursuing one's dreams. The Chicken Soup for the Soul books are intended to "open the heart and rekindle the spirit." Coincidentally, the Beijing Olympic relay encourages people to "light the passion and share the dream."

While the books may be better known for their stories about overcoming life's obstacles, the 500-word Olympic essays submitted to the torchbearers' selection committee detail the authors' lives in China and how they have navigated their way through a maze of cultural differences.

Also, like the books, the essays do not tend to moralize or preach and this allows readers to draw their own conclusions. You'll share in the joy of an Australian couple who sold everything and moved to China; a Russian translator cum entrepreneur who fell in love with China when he first ate Chinese food; and an American woman who came to live in China only after waiting for 27 years.

Although they have not explored the divine origin of carrying the Olympic flame to encourage the whole world to put down their weapons and turn towards the Games or praised the Chinese Lucky-cloud Olympic torch, the authors have touched readers' hearts as they tell about their journeys in a foreign land.

I have found myself revisiting some of the short essays published in China Daily time and again. I suggest readers do the same, and savor them like a fine wine, one sip at a time, as the editors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul have advised in the past.

I also remember telling my colleagues (it's obviously a joke) that if everybody could write like this, many of us would be out of a job.

Perhaps the Chinese candidates, who will account for the overwhelming majority of the torchbearers in 2008, can also be encouraged to tell and share their stories.

The ongoing selection program will choose 21,880 torchbearers worldwide. Of these, 19,400 will come from the Chinese mainland, with 2,480 drawn from overseas cities and Taipei, Hong Kong, and Macao. A further 5,000 escort runners will be named.

Organizers say that domestic candidates come from a wide range of age groups and occupations, with farmers, soldiers, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, scientists and pensioners all vying for places.

There are short descriptions about several nominees from southwest China, including a schoolgirl who has been raising a rare bird at home, a narcotics officer who has put his life on the line for the past decade, a woman who helps her neighbors while battling breast cancer, and a retired professor who at 89 still practices shadow boxing every day and might become the oldest torchbearer at the 2008 Games.

But I would like to know more about what motivates them to be better people, and how they deal with their daily lives. I would like to listen to their words instead of speed reading promotional paragraphs prepared by publicists.

We know the Olympic flame symbolizes the Olympic spirit, and the Olympic torch relay is a celebration of peace and friendship. Stories celebrating humanity told by torchbearers or other Olympic participants will inspire and motivate us.

What about a Chinese version of the Chicken Soup for the Olympic fans' Soul, with many more servings to come?