--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But we, when we put the thorns in our…" description: "\"“But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still we do it. Still we do it.”\" — Colleen McCullough" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/colleen-mccullough-7229_inspirational-quotes_but-we-when-we-put-the-thorns-in-our-bre_1104089.jpg" --- # But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We… ![“But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still we do it. Still we do it.” quote by Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/colleen-mccullough-7229_inspirational-quotes_but-we-when-we-put-the-thorns-in-our-bre_1104089.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/colleen-mccullough-7229_inspirational-quotes_but-we-when-we-put-the-thorns-in-our-bre_1104089.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f78/colleen-mccullough-7229_inspirational-quotes_but-we-when-we-put-the-thorns-in-our-bre_1104089.jpg) > ““But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still we do it. Still we do it.”” [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even when we recognize the pain we cause ourselves, we persist in harmful actions out of habit or compulsion. **In simple terms:** We repeat self‑harmful actions despite awareness. Key Takeaway Break the cycle of self‑destruction. Themes psychology habit self‑destruction Mood somber introspective Type psychological literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - addiction recovery - stress coping Key Concepts behavioral science addiction Questions to Reflect On - Why do we repeat painful patterns? - What can stop the cycle? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Breasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) [Breasts Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts-know-2908979/) [Inspirational quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-quotes/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Thorns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns/) [Thorns Breasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thorns-breasts-2908978/) ## Related quotes > [“God crafted men’s eyes and women’s breast from the same material, I’m convinced. Whenever eyes wander toward cleavage, they’re just trying to feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adi-alsaid/god-crafted-men-s-eyes-and-women-s-breast-from-the-same-material-i-m/) [Adi Alsaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adi-alsaid/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Each of us has something within us which won't be denied, even if it makes us scream aloud to die. We are what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/each-of-us-has-something-within-us-which-won-t-be-denied-even-if-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“We can know what we do wrong even before we do it, but self-knowledge can't affect or change the outcome, can it? Everyone singing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/we-can-know-what-we-do-wrong-even-before-we-do-it-but-self-knowledge/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“If love is a battlefield and we all get scars…These were my reminders…my necessary thorns.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-childress/if-love-is-a-battlefield-and-we-all-get-scars-these-were-my-reminders/) [Sabrina Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-childress/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Old Flossie settle down on the other side of What-the-Dickens and dragged some handiwork out of a sack. She armed herself with two thorns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-maguire/old-flossie-settle-down-on-the-other-side-of-what-the-dickens-and/) [Gregory Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-maguire/) > [“I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed !”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/i-fall-upon-the-thorns-of-life-i-bleed/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [If you don't sow your field what harvest other than thorns and weeds can you anticipate?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-don-t-sow-your-field-what-harvest-other-than-thorns-and-weeds/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [What good does it do me, after all, if an ever-watchful authority keeps an eye out to ensure that my pleasures will be tranquil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/what-good-does-it-do-me-after-all-if-an-ever-watchful-authority-keeps/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [He that sows thorns should never go barefoot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-sows-thorns-should-never-go-barefoot/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [As the Arabs say, "The nature of rain is the same, but it makes thorns grow in the marshes and flowers in the gardens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-de-mello/as-the-arabs-say-the-nature-of-rain-is-the-same-but-it-makes-thorns/) [Anthony de Mello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-de-mello/) > [You know what’s a great metaphor for love? Sleeping beauty. Because you have to plow through this incredible thicket of thorns in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/you-know-what-s-a-great-metaphor-for-love-sleeping-beauty-because-you/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU When I hold a rose, I see the soft, velvety petals and smile, because tucked between those precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-schroeder/the-difference-between-me-and-you-when-i-hold-a-rose-i-see-the-soft/) [Lisa Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-schroeder/) > [Sometimes, sometimes it is really difficult to turn and walk away from someone you have loved and cherished for so long. You know deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kreger/sometimes-sometimes-it-is-really-difficult-to-turn-and-walk-away-from/) [David Kreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kreger/) ## More by Colleen McCullough > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“For the best is only bought at the cost of great pain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/for-the-best-is-only-bought-at-the-cost-of-great-pain/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [My fictitious characters will take the bit between their teeth and gallop off and do something that I hadn't counted on. However, I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/my-fictitious-characters-will-take-the-bit-between-their-teeth-and/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [I want to know what they look like, their height, and colouring, physique and speech pattens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/i-want-to-know-what-they-look-like-their-height-and-colouring/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Old age is an ordeal, of flesh and mind. Of winding down, of slowing down, of dying cells. It's accepting the loss of physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/old-age-is-an-ordeal-of-flesh-and-mind-of-winding-down-of-slowing/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“But not we men. We weren't fit to be told. For so you women think, and hug your mysteries, getting your backs on us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/but-not-we-men-we-weren-t-fit-to-be-told-for-so-you-women-think-and/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [How frightening, that one person could mean so much, so many things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/how-frightening-that-one-person-could-mean-so-much-so-many-things/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“It's not worth getting upset about, Mrs. Dominic. Down in the city they don't know how the other half lives, and they can afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/it-s-not-worth-getting-upset-about-mrs-dominic-down-in-the-city-they/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“You still think love can save us. It's more killing than hate. Hate is so clean, so simple. Like being in the ring. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/you-still-think-love-can-save-us-it-s-more-killing-than-hate-hate-is/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“You still think love can save us. It’s more killing than hate. Hate is so clean, so simple. Like being in the ring. With…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/you-still-think-love-can-save-us-it-s-more-killing-than-hate-hate-is-2/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [If you love people, they kill you. If you need people, they kill you. They do I tell you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/if-you-love-people-they-kill-you-if-you-need-people-they-kill-you/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [“The law should not be a huge and weighty slab which falls upon a man and squashes him into a uniform shape, for men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-law-should-not-be-a-huge-and-weighty-slab-which-falls-upon-a-man/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [duty, the most indecent of all obsessions, was only another name for love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/duty-the-most-indecent-of-all-obsessions-was-only-another-name-for/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [There is no doubt that it is more difficult to read and more difficult to write but I still manage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/there-is-no-doubt-that-it-is-more-difficult-to-read-and-more/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [It's a woman's book but I think the men will read it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/it-s-a-woman-s-book-but-i-think-the-men-will-read-it-too/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) [Explore all 82 Colleen McCullough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) ## More Breasts quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Where shall the lover rest, Whom the fates sever From his true maiden's breast, Parted for ever? Where, through groves deep and high, Sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/where-shall-the-lover-rest-whom-the-fates-sever-from-his-true-maiden/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I feel that between my experience and my mother's, breast cancer is a little bit like someone who lives next door. I know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-nixon/i-feel-that-between-my-experience-and-my-mother-s-breast-cancer-is-a/) [Cynthia Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-nixon/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast, Drowning love's lonely hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/beloved-let-your-eyes-half-close-and-your-heart-beat-over-my-heart/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [The headline here is not that a woman exposed a breast. It is, rather, that a breast exposed a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-pitts/the-headline-here-is-not-that-a-woman-exposed-a-breast-it-is-rather/) [Leonard Pitts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-pitts/) > [With breast cancer, it's all about detection. You have to educate young women and encourage them to do everything they have to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/with-breast-cancer-it-s-all-about-detection-you-have-to-educate-young/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [We must not forget that what I mean by the conquest of the world by spiritual thought is the sending out of the life-giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/we-must-not-forget-that-what-i-mean-by-the-conquest-of-the-world-by/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The women I know who have gone through breast cancer still laugh a lot. They're not crying all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/the-women-i-know-who-have-gone-through-breast-cancer-still-laugh-a/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/having-breast-cancer-is-massive-amounts-of-no-fun/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [If a man is pictured chopping off a woman's breast, it only gets an R rating; but if, God forbid, a man is pictured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-struthers/if-a-man-is-pictured-chopping-off-a-woman-s-breast-it-only-gets-an-r/) [Sally Struthers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-struthers/) [Browse all 1,224 Breasts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breasts/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But we, when we put the thorns in our breasts, we know. We understand. And still we do it. 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