WHY ARE ROSES RED?

A Journey through Cancer
By Muffet Dolar Villegas
April 4,2008

Why are the Roses Red?

God has made everything beautiful in its time.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

Have you ever been asked by a child, “Why are the roses red?” Or, “Why is the sky blue?”
Under the clear blue April skies are gardens and hills teeming with vibrant hues. Hibiscus in different colors are in full bloom all year round but appear brighter and more generous during summer.
The radiant yellow, red, pink and orange colors of heleconias which abound our city and nearby towns are treasured by tourists.
This morning, I painted the lilies in the pond in front of Greyhound 101 FM radio where I work. The pale yellows, light pink, magenta and purple petals bloom profusely as they greet the morning light.

We are surrounded by colors everyday, especially during summer. But do we know where does color come from?
Most objects get their colors from the light shining on them. They absorb some wavelengths of light and reflect others or in simple terms, the colors that we see are the mixture of what they like to absorb and what they discard.
Light is needed to see an object, except when the object has light itself. Without the light, the object is black. Why is the object black? Because it absorbs the light and it gives nothing back.
According to internet sources, “the real magic of color happens within us. We perceive different wavelengths of light as corresponding to different colors, and when you add together all the colors that an object reflect in the correct proportions, you get the color we see for that object.”
Therefore, without us, who are observers, those reflected wavelengths of light are no more than mere reflections. The source said that a great deal of our color perception is psychological. The wavelengths reflected or absorbed with our own interpretations are the colors we see in a tree with lush green leaves and other things.
I use colors in my palette often and I marvel at the One who is the author of light, flowers, trees, oceans and everything around us. God made all these beautiful things, but their beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Colors are not colors without us. Everyday you wake up, think of an array of colors you love to see and you will see them in their most vibrant hues.