Presence in the Chaos

Last weekend, I spent four days at the AAU National Volleyball Tournament watching my kids play. The convention center held thousands of athletes spread across hundreds of courts, immersed in the kind of noise, bright lights, and constant motion that can easily leave a person feeling energetically and physically depleted by the end of the day.

Years ago, I would have accepted that depletion as simply the cost of being there, an unavoidable toll for showing up fully for my family. This time, however, was different. Not because the tournament itself had changed, but because I had.

One of the greatest gifts that Practical Spirituality™ has given me is the understanding that I don’t have to wait until I am overwhelmed to care for myself. I can prepare my nervous system and tend to my energy before I ever walk into the experience, rather than treating regulation as something I reach for only after depletion has already set in.

Before I left home, I packed my favorite blanket. It may seem like a small thing, but bringing something from my own energetic space helped the hotel room feel less like a temporary place and more like a gentle extension of home.

When I arrived, I played the mantra Om throughout the room to clear the lingering energy of previous guests. I followed it with my High Vibe Spray because, over the years, I have experienced how profoundly it changes the atmosphere of a room while also helping me return to myself. Together, these small rituals created an environment that felt peaceful, grounded, and supportive, one that could hold me through four demanding days.

Each morning before entering the convention center, I took a few moments to shield my energy. Rather than unconsciously absorbing everything around me, I chose to enter with intention. That simple practice allowed me to move through the crowds without feeling as though I had to carry everyone else’s excitement, disappointment, anxiety, or stress. It gave me the freedom to decide what I welcomed into my space instead of leaving that decision to chance.

Throughout each day, I continued paying attention to my own nervous system. When I noticed myself becoming overstimulated, I didn’t ignore it or push through it. Instead, I refreshed my energy with my High Vibe Spray, stepped outside for fresh air, or found a quieter hallway where I could breathe, reset, and return once I felt settled again.

None of these practices took very long. They were small, almost ordinary moments woven throughout the day, easy to overlook and yet quietly powerful in their effect.

What struck me most is that none of these practices changed the volleyball tournament itself.

What they changed was my relationship to it.

I was more present with my family. I had more capacity to genuinely enjoy the experience because I wasn’t spending my energy recovering from the environment after the fact. I was caring for myself while I was still in it.

To me, this is what Practical Spirituality™ is ultimately about. It is not reserved for the meditation cushion or the retreat, and it does not ask us to step away from our lives in order to practice it. Instead, it teaches us how to move through our lives with greater awareness, intention, and compassion, wherever those lives happen to take us.

Spirituality, after all, is not something we practice only when life is quiet. Its real purpose is to help us remain connected to ourselves when life is wonderfully, beautifully, and sometimes chaotically full.

The next time you find yourself in an environment that once left you depleted, whether it’s a tournament, a family gathering, an airport, or simply a demanding week, ask yourself:

What is one small practice I could bring with me, not to change the environment, but to change my relationship to it?

Because that is the heart of Practical Spirituality™.

Not waiting until life becomes peaceful before caring for yourself.

Learning to care for yourself while life is happening.