In chapters 17 and 18 of Touching Spirit Bear Cole learned some very important lessons. He learned that no matter what, your anger is with you. It will always be there, you have to focus on happiness instead. Cole also learned some very helpful ways of releasing his anger and frustration. Edwin showed him a pool that he used to soak in to clear his mind when he was banished to the island. Edwin also showed him a way to learn from his ancestors. What Cole did was he carried this rock, called the ancestor rock, to the top of a very large hill. The rock was his ancestors and the hill was his life. It showed him that his ancestors helped guide him through life and shared their experiences with him. Once he got up to top of the hill he set down the rock. At that point, it changed to represent his anger. Cole pushed the rock down the hill and watched his anger roll away. One other thing he did was at the end of the day after dinner, he danced. Everywhere around him there were powers like animals, seasons, and emotions. Each had something to teach him. Earlier that morning he had seen a group of humpback whales breaching, so that night he danced the whale dance. Cole learned something from his dance that night; whales migrate but never have a home. Cole shared that feeling.