…I may be, for aught I know, being silently
steered to my death. I care not; I
recline on the cushions, and seem to feel the smooth water slipping underneath;
this is enough; this is Venice…
What I like
about this passage is the moment of enjoyment of being reclined in a gondola in
Venice, and not needing anything else.
This is enough, explains the narrator and indeed it is. At times we exert ourselves too much in the
seeking of pleasure. Being in a place
like Venice reminds us that we need not work so hard for enjoyment; that we can
sit back and let our senses and surroundings provide us with immense
fulfillment. Although such pleasure is
described here in the context of Venice, it can indeed be found in even the simplest
of environments if we keep ourselves receptive to it.
