Understanding the difference between conflict and violence is essential for healthy relationships. In Pacific Indigenous thought, Vā is the sacred relational space between people, emotions, environments, and responsibilities. Because we live constantly in relationship, conflict is a normal part of life—a signal that something in the Vā needs attention, dialogue, or adjustment. Conflict can strengthen relationships when approached with care. Violence, however, has no place in Vā. It is not conflict; it is an intrusion that ruptures and harms relational space. When we confuse the two, we miss opportunities for growth and fail to address real harm. Know the difference.

In a world that teaches separation, loneliness feels inevitable. But Pacific Indigenous knowledge reminds us otherwise: through the vā, we are always connected. The vā is the sacred relational space that links us to people, places, ancestors, and purpose. Even when we feel alone, those threads of relationship still hold.

This perspective reshapes how we understand conflict, too. Healing isn’t only an individual journey—it’s a collective effort to restore the space between us. When we nurture the vā, we remember that belonging is not something we chase. It is something we already carry.

We were never meant to stand alone. The vā has been holding us all along.

In Samoan thought, vā is not emptiness; it’s the living space between — between people, between ideas, between the human and the divine. The phrase “Ia teu le vā” means “Cherish/Nurture the space between us.” It’s an invitation to tend the relationships that hold life in balance.

As children, we learn through a simple shape toy.
We’re taught that a star fits only in a star, a circle only in a circle. The lesson seems innocent enough: every shape has its perfect place. We carry that idea into adulthood—believing that harmony means sameness, that peace means perfect fit.

But life rarely works that way.

In the Pacific, vā is not empty space; it’s a living, breathing connection. And like every door, every vā has its own kind of lock.