Catastrophe, trauma and event

Abstract

We are accustomed to conceiving our lives as a linear path that goes from before to after, passing through the now. This way of inhabiting our territory implies a chronological and linear notion of time. We inhabit a structured world. And, if random and not very abrupt ruptures occur, these are intertwined with the rest of the memories until they form a homogeneous and seamless continuum. If, over time, we find some disconnected element after intense and silent work, we “make” it continuous without leaving us any great record of it. They become, let’s say, small differences without disruptive power that are part of life. Thus, we believe that we live in a homogeneous and linear sequence of events, without realizing that reality is not like that.
Catastrophe, trauma and event. These are names for that which produces significant interruptions in what is structured. Their differences depend on their intensity and their particularities. [...]