We arrived in Jerusalem in the evening. The streets were empty of tourists, but in the squares we could see groups of soldiers, all young men and women, dining in silence on the terrace of a bar. In front of the Wailing Wall there were only a few of the faithful, swaying back and forth to memorise the words of the scriptures, the wind from the desert was full of sand, the sky purple. In the streets the echo of prayers rose, and in the loudspeakers of the minarets the Adhan. One walked through that city as in a dream, careful not to stumble or break anything so as not to wake up. In Jerusalem one feels enveloped in an eerie peace. Very similar to the feeling of calm that one experiences just before the storm. This is the image with which we began our journey, that of a state of alertness, of "active serenity" as Julian Marias would say. Because in this moment of global uncertainty we are alert, in this brief moment of truth, like the soldier, we will try to structure our thoughts.