Friendship Without Purpose

We’ve grown up hearing — “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

And it’s true in its own way. The ones who stand by us in difficult times do hold a special place in our lives.

But with time, I’ve come to see the limitation of that definition.

Because not all true friends are available when we’re in need; not because they don’t care, but because life, distance, and circumstance simply don’t allow it.

With those friends, the bond isn’t defined by how quickly they respond to your SOS, but by how freely you can be yourself when you do reconnect. There’s no need, no crisis, no expectation, and yet, the connection feels complete.

They may not be the “friends in need,”

but they are the friends in essence.

Their presence doesn’t fix a problem,

it simply fills your soul.

“And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.”

– Kahlil Gibran

We live in a world where everything has a purpose, a goal, a measurable outcome. Even relationships are sometimes evaluated by what they give us - contacts, connections, comfort. But real friendship quietly rebels against this logic.

Just last week, I met two of my school friends during an official visit. My friends from 1st standard - my BFFs. All three of us are scattered in different directions, geographically, professionally, and in the rhythms of life. There’s no fixed routine, no group chats buzzing every day, and no logical converging point anymore.

But we still made time.

In the middle of busy schedules and limited windows, we managed to meet, even if just for a little while. And when we did, we talked non-stop, as if we were back in our school times.

There was no reason to meet.

No crisis to solve.

No news to break.

Just that intangible pull of connection, of being understood without effort.

And that’s when it hit me: this is the kind of friendship Gibran speaks of.

No purpose, just presence.

Gibran writes, “Love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.”

A friendship that expects loyalty, demands attention, or exists only when needed is like a net.. a setup to catch something. But a friendship that simply expresses care, shares presence, and reveals itself without expectations is pure and soulful.

So let’s allow our friendships to be gentle : not projects, not transactions, not tests of loyalty.

Let them be spaces where souls breathe freely.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

In the end, it’s the little things that stay with us: A shared joke from childhood, the comfort of speaking your mind without explaining yourself, that one sentence only they would understand.

These moments don’t serve a grand purpose. They just refresh the soul, like morning dew.