In light of the Icelandic volcano that is disrupting air travel everywhere, Alain de Botton wonders what would happen in a world without planes, where “bees and sparrows rule the skies.” (What about, like, hawks, bro?).

Those who had known the age of planes would recall the confusion they had felt upon arriving in Mumbai or Rio, Auckland or Montego Bay, only hours after leaving home, their slight sickness and bewilderment lending credence to the old Arabic saying that the soul invariably travels at the speed of a camel.

(Via Bobulate)