Thought of the Day: “Walls have ears. Doors have eyes. Trees have…

October 24, 2025

“Walls have ears. Doors have eyes. Trees have voices. Beasts tell lies. Beware the rain. Beware the snow. Beware the man you think you know.”
— Catherine Fisher

Some quotes crawl under your skin and refuse to leave quietly. This one does it in rhyme. Catherine Fisher’s words are part fairy tale, part warning label, and all truth. It’s an invitation to look closer at the world, and at the people you think you know best.

“Walls have ears” sounds old-fashioned until you realize how much of modern life is lived through microphones. Smart speakers. Cameras. Phones. Even your fridge might be taking notes. “Doors have eyes” isn’t far behind. Every Ring camera, every motion sensor, every neighbor pretending to water their plants has eyes on the street.

But the line that stops me is the last: Beware the man you think you know. Because we all have someone like that, a person we trusted, defended, believed in, until one day we couldn’t. It’s not always betrayal that hurts most; it’s the shock that we didn’t see it coming.

Fisher’s poem reminds us that awareness isn’t the same as fear. Paying attention doesn’t mean living in suspicion; it means noticing what’s real, even when it’s uncomfortable. The walls, the doors, the trees, they’re just metaphors for all the things that are always listening, always reflecting back who we really are.

Maybe the warning isn’t about danger out there. Maybe it’s about accountability in here. When we act as if no one’s watching, when we lie because it’s easier, when we speak without care, we leave traces. The world hears us. The people near us see us. And sometimes, we hear ourselves a little too late.

So yes, beware the man you think you know. But also beware becoming him.

🧠 Read the full blog post where I explore this Thought of the Day and the Question of the Day

✨ Browse the full Thought of the Day archive here →

✉️ Receive These Thoughts Daily

Start each day with a moment of meaning.

Sign up for the daily email.

👉 Join here.

💬 Share Your Interpretation

How does this thought hit you today?

Feel free to share it or just carry it quietly through your day.