[Verse 1]
Siegel found the secret hiding in our past
Not a perfect childhood, but a story told at last
Make sense of what happened, find your coherent thread
The strongest gift you'll give the child you're raising instead
[Chorus]
It's not what happened to you
It's the sense that you make
From the pieces of your story
And the narrative you create
Coherent understanding breaks the chain
Makes the future bright again
Not perfection, just reflection
On the child you used to be
[Verse 2]
Mary Main discovered something quite profound
Parents with hard childhoods, securely attached kids found
The key was not their happiness, but meaning they had made
From struggles and from sorrow, a coherent story laid
[Chorus]
It's not what happened to you
It's the sense that you make
From the pieces of your story
And the narrative you create
Coherent understanding breaks the chain
Makes the future bright again
Not perfection, just reflection
On the child you used to be
[Bridge]
Lieberman shows us ordinary magic flows
When we delight in children, see how their future grows
Our joy becomes their scaffold, our hope their guiding light
We give them time's dimension, make tomorrow bright
[Verse 3]
Plenty Coups faced ending, his whole world torn apart
But radical hope lived on inside his beating heart
Hope aimed at the unknown, not a plan or guarantee
Just staying turned toward futures we cannot yet see
[Final Chorus]
It's not what happened to you
It's the sense that you make
From the pieces of your story
And the narrative you create
Radical hope keeps burning through the pain
Makes the future live again
Not perfection, just direction
Toward what's yet to be
[Outro]
Make sense of your beginning
To give your child their start
The future lives in stories
We carry in our heart