Plutarch lives on

Empty stands at the marathon finish line.

Last evening the mayor announced the cancellation of this year's New York City Marathon.

His announcement came a few days after Hurricane Sandy wiped out parts of the city and one day before the race was scheduled to be run.

After we sighed with relief, my family talked about how the decision was made. We talked about leadership, voicing opposition, listening.

We talked about the need to be firm and decisive during crisis, yet flexible and willing to change direction.

What happens when leaders and the people don't agree, we asked each other. What would happen with a different decision? How important is timing? What's the best way to communicate?

And, as we talked, I saw that our Plutarch studies influenced us and how we approached the news story.

We are in the habit now, thanks to Plutarch and Anne White's study guides, to examine the idea of leadership and talk about what qualities are essential or detrimental to leaders. We consider context and character. We notice, think, and talk, and sometimes disagree. I'm grateful for the habits we've honed by spending time with Plutarch and the leaders he wrote about.

I should note that our first attempts at Plutarch were not successful, but that's another blog post. For now, on Day 3 of my Gratitude Project, I'm grateful we stuck it through our initial struggles with Plutarch.