Lonely Are The Holidays | LMAC FreeStyle Collage - No 115

The LMAC Community offers an opportunity for members to create and post "freestyle" collage themes. In the freestyle option, more freedom is allowed to design your creations without having to incorporate the weekly contest photo. However, contest rules still apply.

For my FreeStyle Collage No. 115, my theme consisted of a different aspect to the holidays. One that isn't often spoken of or acknowledged.

The LMAC Community run by @shaka also holds a monthly collage contest for its members. In the Community, you'll discover a variety of themed entries submitted for consideration. If selected for the final round, contest hopefuls anxiously await results indicating their placement that determines the prize awarded. It's a fun contest that any Hive member can participate. If you'd like to join in, just visit the LMAC Community account here and follow the rules of the contest for details on the latest round.

You may ask, why would anyone feel lonely during such festive occasions? Individuals may feel as though they've lost touch with family. Other family members may reside in another town, state, or country.

The truth is, I feel, that society has involved in such a way that unrealistic expectations for many individuals has become stressors. The pressure to act a certain way, feel a certain way, and present gifts to others have become overwhelming.

The doesn't help that retail outlets display holiday items in September. They are "in your face" wherever you go. This appears to signal that you should get ready or else face missing out if you wait until the last moment.

Expectations of gift giving has spiraled out of control to the point that people work themselves up into a frenzied state searching for the perfect gift.

But we can't box the feeling of loneliness into a certain season. This feeling occurs year round for millions of people dealing with a variety of issues. It's just that society piles on the feeling like an anvil around one's neck.

If a person feels lonely or decides to be alone for whatever reason, others should respect their decision. If assistance is needed, then intervention may be suitable.

However, I've learned over the years that there are several ways individuals can cope with feelings of loneliness. My personal favorite is to volunteer. Numerous volunteer organizations exist where the focus is on others in need. The premise is to take the spotlight off yourself and find joy and happiness in helping others.

When you step back for a moment, you will realize that the true meaning of the holidays has warped into a uncontrollable monster. Celebrating the true meaning of Christmas means, in my opinion, being thankful for many things, especially your life and its salvation.

In preparing my design, I sought to reflect upon the imagery of being on the outside. For that, I chose the image of a man sitting along. He is removed from the normal sense of holiday activities. He's on the outside looking in.

I utilized Canva to blend the different type images. Below are my steps in which I begin with a blank, white canvas, then added layers of elements, removing backgrounds, resizing, duplicating, colorizing, and repositioning items as needed incorporating the tools at my disposal in my Annual Pro Membership Subscription.

For this sequence, I showed two different aspects.

Below are the images I included:

Below is my completed freestyle collage:

Thanks for your visit. I appreciate it. I hope you like my freestyle collage theme.