dormant_dragon | Care and Feeding of Your Hedonist

Your standard hedonist is a very easy-to-maintain companion - largely self-sustaining, she will find occupation and entertainment in almost any given situation. However, if you make the choice to welcome a hedonist into your life, there are a number of things that will ensure she remains healthy and contented and will allow you to get the most out of your experience of living with a hedonist in your home.

Creature comforts are, of course, important. Ability to escape excesses of heat and cold, whether through insulation and air-conditioning or provision of suitable clothing is particularly appreciated – but do be prepared to find your hedonist wandering naked around the house in summertime. Soft, supportive bedding, preferably the kind she can share with you, will keep your hedonist feeling physically and emotionally secure. Food is often of central importance to a hedonist - not just as sustenance but as a source of pleasure and contentment. Many hedonists particularly enjoy the preparation of food, such that the anticipation as well as the eating may be appreciated. What you will find generally, as far as the essentials of physical maintenance are concerned, is that your hedonist will derive simple bodily pleasure from whatever sources are available, so it’s not necessary to be extravagant.

Employment and exercise are important for keeping your hedonist in peak condition. Ideally, these two aspects should be combined – the hedonist finds great satisfaction in productive work that also maintains her physical fitness; exercise purely for the sake of exercise will likely feel unbalanced. Gardening is a good option, as is home maintenance and perhaps even renovation – hedonists love the process of setting their surroundings to rights. Do consider, before welcoming a hedonist into your life, whether you are able to offer her the freedom and opportunity she requires to feel useful and valuable to you and whether you are likely to appreciate the results of her efforts.

A hedonist has a strong desire to give as well as receive pleasure, so be sure to make clear to her what you enjoy and what you don’t; it will pay dividends in the long term. It helps if you are open-minded and willing to experiment – and it hardly needs emphasising that sex-positivity is also an important trait for anyone considering a relationship with a hedonist. There may, of course, be some pleasures in which your hedonist indulges that you do not approve; take the time to negotiate boundaries and limits. Your hedonist certainly does not wish you to be unhappy but she does require the freedom to explore and make her own mistakes and deal with her own consequences. Her pursuit of tranquillity will ultimately find the balance between rewards and costs.

Above all, in order to lead a life of real pleasure and fulfilment, your hedonist requires interesting companionship and intellectual stimulation. She loves to take a philosophical approach to life’s questions and problems and enjoys dissecting and analysing experiences and ideas. Be prepared to engage in lengthy discussions on various topics of interest and never shy away from what might seem like dangerous ideas. Never think that your hedonist is simply a mindless pleasure-seeking robot – rather, she is deeply committed to maximising not just her own happiness but yours as well; and she might just be the best thing that ever happened to you.