Listening to Jazz and the Power of the Present Moment

Last night I went to a jazz concert with friends. I started listening to jazz about 4 or 5 years ago, and I am grateful to have found something that fills me with such delight! The musicians almost invariably are enjoying themselves, and listening to each other, responding to each other in the present moment, a musical conversation with many turns down unexplored roads.

When I am in the middle of OCD obsessions, I am not in the room, or in my life. I am slowly building my skill at staying present enough to actually respond to what is happening, rather than catapulting myself into the past or the future. OCD resents the present moment, and would prefer to launch into a barrage of worry about "Am I staying present enough? Am I doing this right? Did I enjoy that last solo completely?" The joy of jazz for me is that it's easier to let those thoughts be there, and still find pleasure in the music.