How to be a happy expat: Emperor Aurelius' secret revealed_其他

How to be a happy expat: Emperor Aurelius' secret revealed

Premier Wen Jiabao is hooked on a 2,000-year-old book by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who believed the key to a happy life is in the way we think. Wen's passion for Aurelius' teachings has triggered Marcus mania in China and after reading the Roman's writings I can understand why. These pearls of wisdom can help steer anyone into a positive state of mind, especially an expat like me, who regularly needs a check up from the neck up.

I am often baffled by the differences in China and even rattled by comparisons in the expat community. But good old Marcus, who was an expat himself for many years as left Rome and conquered his foes, has set me straight.

So friends, expats, countrymen (wherever you're from), lend me your ears.

Marcus was emperor in AD 161 and in the latter part of his 20-year reign wrote stoic philosophy. The stoics considered negative emotions, such as pride, anger and envy, were the result of errors in judgment and a "stoic" person didn't complain about life, because he or she should know better. In a nutshell, Aurelius believed that folks were as happy as they made their minds to be.

The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and a reasonable nature.

When things don't go my way in Beijing, or I cannot accept people or situations as they are, the "why am I in China?" question starts to circle around my gloomy mind. I allow the negative thoughts to gain momentum. So what's Marcus' solution?