The Importance of Forgiving

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without having anyone to love? You can’t survive with no one taking care of you every once in a while. Even though these two things are true, Cole, from Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, can live without them. He proved he could by his parents not loving him, so he didn’t love his parents. Also, he had survived through live physically, but not emotionally. This story proves that life is all about forgiving, and without it we would be nothing.

Cole Mathews is the main character in this book. He goes through many troubles in life. For example,ever since he was a little boy, his dad has abused him. After all the years of his dad beating him, he decided to be a bad kid. He robbed banks, beat people up, you know, the usual. But one day, he went too far. He found the scrawniest person you could find, and knocked his head into a side walk. Hard. A troubled teen’s life started with his father abusing him, in many ways. If his father would’ve left him alone, he wouldn’t have almost gone to jail, or beaten up Peter. But, because this did happen, Cole had to forgive himself, then his family, and then Peter. It took Peter a long, long time before he would forgive Cole, but that eventually happened. If no one forgave anyone, Peter would be dead, Cole would be dead inside, and his mom would be miserable. Forgiveness is a gift we all get, and no one in this book took advantage of it. Except for maybe his dad.

Another example of trouble Cole got into was when he got mauled by the Spirit Bear. The Spirit Bear is a giant white bear that only shows up when you are truly relaxed. Cole saw this bear, and was very angry at it, because it wasn’t afraid of him. So, he ran at it, and tried attacking it. His plan backfired, and the bear attacked him. He lost feeling in his body, and he couldn’t really move anywhere because he was horribly hurt. Cole was nearly on an island for three days, not moving. He ate a bug here and there, but he couldn’t move otherwise. During this time, Cole realized it wasn’t his fault he beat up Peter. And it wasn’t Peter’s fault either. It was his dad’s fault. His dad was the one that got him mad, and he blew up at Peter. Peter was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Cole decided to forgive himself for all the trouble he’s been through, and blame it on his father, because all of this was truly his fault.

Forgiveness is great. When someone forgives you, you have a different feeling inside. It feels like they gave you a second chance to live. Like you and that person can start over with your friendship. Cole from Touching Spirit Bear feels this way about Peter. They seem to have a strong connection at the end of this book, and it seems that they really did care about each other. Forgiving all lead up to this. Without it, Peter wouldn’t see how sorry Cole is, and how Cole has matured. But, he has now, all because Peter gave Cole a second chance, even though he didn’t really have a choice. Forgiving is the reason the world goes round. Everybody makes mistakes, but anybody can fix them.