Maggie Smith on Art and the Gift of Our Attention

About this sermon

We need art. We need beauty. We need creators who remind us how to pay attention—to the world, to ourselves, to what matters. In this episode, Jen sits down with poet and author Maggie Smith (You Could Make This Place Beautiful) for a rich, funny, and deeply resonant conversation about creativity, resilience, and why making art isn’t just for artists—it’s for anyone trying to live a more present, meaningful life. They talk about: • Why writing became Maggie’s way back to herself • The myth of the tortured (or solo) creator • What it means to give your full attention as a gift • Why Jen is a proud “metaphor whore” • And how even takeout orders are a creative act This one is for anyone who’s ever felt stuck, hungry for beauty, or unsure where to begin. Favorite Quotes: “The thing that really kept me going was writing. Writing was the way that I came home to myself.” – Maggie Smith Every decision you make in your life is a creative decision. If we think about our lives as a piece of living art that we get to make from scratch and continue to make every day, the relationship you begin or end, the job you take or leave, the location you decide to move to or away from – all of these decisions are creative choices that change that piece of living art that is the life that you have.” – Maggie Smith “If you have a good therapist, they’ll probably tell you to write, even if it’s only for your own eyeballs, because writing about our own lives changes our lives. – Maggie Smith “The quality of your attention in the world is your gift and if you’re not trying to shake yourself awake and move through the world as aware, curious, and porous, and open as possible, you’re missing so much. Forget creativity, you’re missing so much as a person.” – Maggie Smith “I think about it so much listening to music, or seeing a movie, or reading a book, or looking at a piece of art in a museum and I think ‘What would have happened if that person hadn’t made that because they were too nervous about how it would be received?’ – Maggie Smith “I am so grateful that people make things and then send them out like little messages in a bottle without knowing where they’re going to wash up because sometimes we have no idea that we might be making something that is exactly what someone else needs. Even years from now.” – Maggie Smith Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life by Maggie Smith - https://amzn.to/42EPzrc Sturgill Simpson - https://sturgillsimpson.com/ Good Bones poem by Maggie Smith - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith - https://amzn.to/3Gal2Kd Moving Forward After Pain Rips Your Script: Maggie Smith - https://jenhatmaker.com/podcasts/series-36/moving-forward-after-pain-rips-your-script-maggie-smith/ The Friendships That Save Us: Maggie Smith - https://jenhatmaker.com/podcasts/series-54/the-friendships-that-save-us-maggie-smith/ The Dear Writer Book Tour - https://maggiesmithpoet.com/dear-writer-book-tour/ You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith - https://amzn.to/3Ep8sWK Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott - https://amzn.to/42yKoJi Joan Didion – https://www.joandidion.org/ My Life by Lynn Hejinian - https://amzn.to/3Eo6J40 Sayeed Jones - https://www.readsaeedjones.com/ Guest’s Links: Website - https://maggiesmithpoet.com/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/maggiesmithpoet/ Twitter - https://x.com/maggiesmithpoet Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/maggiesmithpoet Substack - https://maggiesmith.substack.com/ Connect with Jen! Jen’s Website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy.