Living Ruins and a Dead Body

It was Christmas Eve and the plan was to visit the ruins of an ancient kingdom some thousands of years old. Although I welcomed the idea of exploring the "Eternal Sacred City", I did not imagine it would do much to remind me of the season.
Old ruins are just that, dead and gone. They speak of a people who lived long ago, and are so foreign to us today that we scarcely spend the time learning about them. Little is known of this civilization other that they were very religious, and ruled by kings who built huge monasteries.
Our driver dropped us off at the museum first and told us that we should see it first as we would

not be returning this way.  (Yes, the ruins are so extensive that we needed a driver to ferry us from place to place.) I walked around the museum halfheartedly, not paying much attention to the old photos of excavations and bits of pottery. But as I passed a large window something outside caught my eye.
Above the museum there is a damn and the sluice was open to flood the rice fields below. This created a rushing channel of water that ran down beside the museum. Along this some people were running, shouting, and pointing to the fast flowing water. I saw a policeman in full uniform dive in, followed by two other young men. They thrashed about in the water, trying to stay afloat. More people gathered on the banks. The swimmers got out and continued to search for something or someone in the water. Then there was a yell and a splash as another man dove in. From beneath the water he dragged a purple shirt and the body of a young man. Others quickly helped him ashore where the lifeless body was laid and the process of resuscitation began. I watched, horrified, as the body remained motionless and was finally taken away in a tuk-tuk. The man had lost his life before my very eyes. I had an even harder time concentrating on any museum exhibit after that.  Not even the snake charmer, with his cobra in a basket, could turn my head.

As we walked the ruins I noticed that they were not dead.  Cows grazed between the crumbling walls. Monkeys dropped from the trees and slouched on the temple walls. More and more monkeys appeared.  Some posed, others approached us looking for food. They cavorted, leaped and played in large groups. A monitor lizard slunk through the grass and horn-bills flew overhead.
Moss covered the stones and tree roots had taken over, supporting the falling bricks.
The old water tanks held water, and supported life. Herons, egrets and water lilies flourished. Vendors sold coconuts and corn-on-the-cob. Everywhere pilgrims started to show up carrying their offerings. Most had pink or white lotus flowers, but I saw blossoms of every color being laid before the shrines and Buddhas. Life was ever present and flourishing.
I had come to remember, or learn about, the past, but I had been distracted by the living.  At Christmas we must let ourselves be distracted by the present because Christ came to give us all life and life more abundantly.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped by the side of the road to watch two wild elephants who had come to graze by the lake side. It was a perfect ending to the day. Our driver commented that there was no need for us to do a safari, we had seen so many animals already.  Yes, we had experienced an abundance of life.  Let us all hope that this is the theme of the new year of 2017!  MAY YOU HAVE LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY!