I hate Red

I hate red. It's my least favorite color. I don't look good in red. I don't like red cars. I don't like how red fruit punch stains the carpet when you spill it. I don't like how blood is hard to remove from the carpet. When I think about red, I generally do think about blood. The image of my bathroom covered in it before I rushed to the hospital and almost had to have emergency surgery stays with me. I thought that I was going to die. Red is an intense color, and I think I'm too laid back to enjoy that kind of intensity. Red is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power,. determination, as well as passion, desire, and love. 

All of these are things that I generally push into the corners of my life -- those are not at all things that I concern myself with most of the time. Red acts on more than just an emotional level though. Something about the color enhances the human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. Why is this color SO intense? I think it's a primal association -- a conditioned one that is ingrained in the human subconscious. Because blood is red, and we know that blood is one of the most essential keys to our lives, we place a high reverence on the color. 

Light red represents joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love.
Pink signifies romance, love, and friendship. It denotes feminine qualities and passiveness.
Dark red is associated with vigor, willpower, rage, anger, leadership, courage, longing, malice, and wrath.
Brown suggests stability and denotes masculine qualities.
Reddish-brown is associated with harvest and fall.