Thinking about how necessary it is for user experience (UX) professionals to be infused with empathy as part of their interactions in day-to-day life, and not just when on the job. A thoughtful post by another UX blogger talks about empathy too.

Which led to thinking of tea infusions –
which seemed kind of a weak image (think tea vs. coffee, weak vs. strong). That led to thinking of distilled spirit infusions (all the rage in SoCal lately) and how that image conveys energy, a willingness to experiment, a joie de vivre (most likely due to the excited media coverage of this new foodie enthusiasm).

Which led to thinking, wait a minute, how many empires have been architected, built,  plotted against, destroyed – in boardrooms, palaces, cottages and yurts all while  participants sipped tea? Sure, we read about memorable events fueled by alcohol, but perhaps tea as a contributor to historic events has had a much greater influence (some of which recorded here). So too, perhaps for empathy. It doesn’t get the make a dent in the universe rock star status in the design world like other skills, but could its influence be greater?