The following quotes were taken from the novel The Thorns Birds by Colleen McCullough. 

     This was a best-selling novel in the year 1977, by an Australian author (name been mentioned above).

    It was about family and commitment of both love between a personal affection and towards the Lord characterized by Meggie Cleary and Father Ralph de Bricassart who were the main characters.  Since 'twas my favorite novel to read and never tiring on reading it again and again, so I took on the best quotes for us to meditate in real life day after day situation and happy to share a little idea that comes out from my mind.  The quotes are as follows:

• There was a legend about a bird which sings just once in it's life, more sweetly than any other creature on the face of the earth.  From the moment it leaves the nest it searches for the thorn tree, and does not rest until it has found one.  Then, singing among the savage branches, it impales itself upon the longest, sharpest spine.  And dying, it rises above its own agony to outcarol the lark and the nightingale.  One superlative song, existence the price.  But the whole world still to listen, and God in His heaven smiles.  For the best is only brought at the cost of great pain... or so says, the legend.  (We have our different songs in life. We wanted to sing it aloud, convincing ourselves that it's the best song the entire world could ever be heard.  Sometimes, we are convincing ourselves that the things we do are worth dying for.  Until such time, we then realized that what it offered us is pain.  And we can never get it back.)
• When we press the thorn to our chest we know, we understand, and still we do it.  (A mistake that is repeated twice and more were no longer a mistake.  It is a choice.  A choice that we already know what will happen next, but still because of hope that things will change we still allowing ourselves to do it.)
• We create our own thorns, and never stop to count the cost.  All we can do is suffer the pain, and tell ourselves it was well worth it.  (We are responsible to our own doings.  We can't blame anyone.  And every time we hurt, we never stop blaming somebody.  Why don't we ask ourselves instead?  Every pain we suffered was rightfully paid the price.)
• Truly God was good, to make man so blind.  (We are blinded and been fooled by our own emotion.)
• I can't share your love of God.  But I do understand your need to give your life to Him.  Each of us has within us something that just won't be denied.Something to which we are driven even though it makes us scream aloud to die.  (You have your own belief to your own God that is different from the faith I have towards my own God.  But I do respect you, because I understand your commitment and responsibility towards Him.  But, loving someone is different.  We have someone in our life that we can't afford to loose.  If we did, we sometimes lost the the whole world.  No matter how hard we tried to hide our feelings, it always show.  Only, some people falls to a wrong person.  Or maybe, he/she is the right person but definitely at the wrong set of time.  We cannot dictate our heart to whom we fall into.  Most of the time we love the person more than we give love to ourselves.)

Enjoy reading.. :) scb