Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, don’t forget there’s purple too. The nursery rhyme taught to children at a young age to help them remember their colors is more than just that. Sure, it burns the colors of the rainbow in to one’s memory, allowing you to never forget it; however, it does much more. These colors that form the rainbow describe the six most common emotions and sensations of the human race. Though each is completely different, this array of six happens to blend to create the palette of humanity.

Red: the color of love. Whether it be love of a significant other or love of a family, this color radiates passion. The fierce love of a mother is matched by the intense love of a significant other. It is no coincidence that red is one of the primary colors of Valentine’s Day. As a child, your initial valentines are your family yet as life continues on, these significant others seem to find their way to you. Without this one color of the rainbow, the emotions that stem off of love would also be missing, leaving one lackluster in color and emotion.

Orange: the color of warmth. Though this is not an emotion, the sensation of warmth is key to humanity. This color is not the literal warmth, but the figurative warmth. Warmth flows out from a smile, a laugh, or a hug adding the color of comfort to life. Being a human is much more than just participating in the motions, it is adding a little orange when one is feeling blue.

Yellow: the color of happiness. Coincidentally, yellow instills happiness just as a ray of sunshine clears a storm. This color contrasts with the blue that one experiences from time to time. A little yellow in life is what rivals the memories tainted in blue, allowing one to survive with a little sadness. Often found in the little things, yellow is the most important color in the human spectrum.

Green: the color of jealousy. The most common emotionally-linked words, green emanates greed. Unsurprisingly the color of money, green often brings out the worst in people. This is the color that is hardest to avoid in the human spectrum. Though jealousy has a negative connotation to it, this color can also bring out the ambition that is imbedded in the mind, allowing a human to achieve above and beyond.

Blue: the color of sorrow. Inevitable and excruciating, blue manages to never skip a generation. Everyone has a little blue in their life, though some experience sorrow much more intense than others. This blue comes in many shades. As one grows older, his/her sorrow often deepens, darkening this blue from the cerulean of a child to the navy of an elder. With sorrow comes understanding, just as wisdom does with age.

Purple: the color of hope. This last shade completes the spectrum of humanity. Just as the other five, purple is essential to the life of a human. Hope breaks through the green and blue allowing one to live both mentally and physically. Sometimes hope becomes the only way to survive in a world of blue and green. No matter the severity of the situation, a ray of purple seems to never fade.

From the beginning of time, color has had meaning behind it. It sparks something in humans that nothing else can, thus creating the awe that a rainbow does. Shining like a spectrum in the sky at the end of a storm, these six emotions and sensations add color to a race of beings that would be lifeless without it.