...heaven is close by

Sometimes they seem like living shapes,
The people of the sky,
Guests in white raiment coming down
From heaven, which is close by. 

-Lucy Larcom, teacher and author (1824-1893)

...a pearl

A raindrop, dripping from a cloud,

Was ashamed when it saw the sea.
"Who am I where there is a sea?" it said.
When it saw itself with the eye of humility,
A shell nurtured it in its embrace.
-Saadi of Shiraz (c. 1200 AD)

....by bitter experience

The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience.
-W.E.B. Du Bois, educator, civil rights activist, and writer (1868-1963)

....the work at hand

Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus. 

-Alexander Graham Bell, inventor (1847-1922)

Creativity -- like human life itself -- begins in darkness. We need to acknowledge this. All too often, we think only in terms of light: "And then the lightbulb went on and I got it!" It is true that insights may come to us as flashes. It is true that some of these flashes may be blinding. It is, however, also true that such bright ideas are preceded by a gestation period that is interior, murky, and completely necessary.
-Julia Cameron, artist, author, teacher, filmmaker, composer, and journalist (b. 4 Mar 1948)