Day 19: And above all, one should never lose one's temper.-- The Narrator

"And above all, one should never lose one's temper."-- The Narrator, Saludos Amigos

I'm pretty sure one can guess to whom this one is directed to. Yep. Donald Duck. The Narrator tells this to Donald, who is about to lose his temper, because of how high he is up in the mountains surrounding Lake Titicaca, Argentina, where overexertion can cause some bad side effects. 

This is really sound advice for anyone who has to face anything challenging. Losing your temper can have disastrous results and cause you to struggle more than you should. Take Donald Duck for example. He always loses his temper and rarely gets what he wants. In the Lake Titicaca scene of Saludos Amigos where this quote takes place, he is riding a very stubborn llama. The child near him can get the llama to do what he wants because he treats him with kindness and respect with the help of the flute. After asking for a try, Donald, on the other hand, loses patience with him about halfway up the mountain and tries to use brute force to get the llama to do what he wants, which is to go farther up. Giving Donald a run for his money, the llama refuses to do what Donald wants, causing Donald much frustration because he's met his match. Had Donald listened to the child and treated the llama with the same kindness and respect and patience needed to climb so high, he would have gotten to the top and not bucked down the mountainside into the pottery maker's stand in the market. 

This advice also is good for those who cook. As strange as it may seem, the happier you are when you cook something, the better the food will be. The more bitter and frustrated you are, the more sour and bitter it will become. Try it sometime. Cook a meal when you're in a really good mood, then cook the same meal when you're in a sour frustrated mood and see the difference. Strange how it works but it works. 

I could go on about different ways to control your temper, but only you know what works best for you. It could be something as simple as breathing and staring off into space for a few minutes, meditating, removing yourself from the situation til you get calmed down. It could also be as complex as going to the gym and hitting a boxing dummy or maybe you even find cooking calms you down. Whatever it is it's up to you to choose to control your temper, no matter how hard it may seem, and keep it under control. Nothing good ever comes from a lost temper.

Until next time! Keep Cooking with Character!