The Shape Toy Fallacy: Rethinking Fitting and the Vā

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 reality, a star doesn’t always fit a star.
Sometimes a square sits in a star-shaped space, awkward yet still whole. And sometimes what appears to fit perfectly leaves a space unfilled.

This is the fallacy of the vā—to think that it has a fixed shape.

Vā is not about fitting one form into another; it’s about holding space for relationship to form and reform.

It is not the edges that define connection, but the mana that moves between them.

There is no “shape” in vā—only intention, presence, and care.

When we focus too much on fitting the shape to the space, we lose the cadence of the vā.

But when we fit the heart to the moment, the intent to the relationship, and the alo (face) to the vā (relational space), we enter into a different kind of order—one that breathes/feels rather than conforms.

Peacebuilding in the vā is not about perfect geometry—it is about tapu/sacred geometry, where the measure is not symmetry but synchronicity.
In vā, even shapes that seem incompatible can coexist, not because they match, but because they matter to one another.

This is the paradox and the power of the vā: the space between us is not defined by fit, but by flow.

Always remember, the toy rewards conformity, but vā rewards compassion.