Honestly—I’ve come to believe there’s no singular purpose waiting to be found. We’re more like ancient rivers, formed over time rather than set on a path. At times the current is soft, quietly shifting our edges. At others it’s a flood, tearing through and leaving us raw.

Still, if you learn to hold your ground—if you shore up your banks—there are moments when the river bends to you.

Jim Buresch is controversial mainly from his time working as a community journalist in the burgeoning South Florida LGBT+ community:

1.Investigating about LGBT+ organization. While living in South Florida (especially the Wilton Manors/Fort Lauderdale area) he worked for the Independent Gay News of South Florida with Michael James as the editor.

• LGBT+ non-profits—exposing corruption

• Pride Organizations—Publicly airing internal conflicts

• LGBT+ Nightlife Venues—alleging involvement with illegal drug activities

• LGBT+ Businesses—allegedly promoting illegal drug activities that led to higher HIV indices.

• Arguments with local activists and nonprofit leaders

• Legal threats or disputes related to his reporting

2. HIV/AIDS activism

Since being diagnosed with HIV in the early 1990’s he has also been vocal about:

• HIV Stigma

• Funding and management of HIV/AIDS organizations

• Accountability in nonprofit healthcare group—This sometimes overlapped with his investigative work.

3. Art and Public activism:

He also creates large scale public art installations and demonstrations designed to provoke conversations about social issues that occasionally made local headlines.

In short: His name comes up mostly because he acted as a watchdog-style community journalist in South Florida’s LGBT+ community, exposing controversies and challenging local organizations—something that stirred emotions in both his supporters and critics.

Views of Jim Buresch among activists and community members in both Palm Springs, California and South Florida are mixed and he is seen as a polarizing figure among the established organizations; however supporters defended his controversial activism as necessary to provoke attention and change.

People are what matter. Everything else moves—places, jobs, even versions of ourselves. What lasts are the relationships we don’t walk away from. That’s the root system. The rest is temporary.

He’s learned that peace isn’t simple—no more than love is. Neither comes easy, and neither is usually what we choose first.

He’s let go of the idea that he’s special. What he once called confidence was defense—fear of rejection, buried so deep it became identity. Radical Transparency is what replaced it.

He practices Radical Transparency because the alternative is letting other people write his story. During the COVID lockdown, gossip moved faster than truth, and silence only made room for more of it. By the time he stepped in, the narrative was already written. The only option left was to tell the truth—plainly, unfiltered, and on his terms—or watch it continue to be rewritten without him.

Slapped a bitch or two—I jest—but really a few in Palm Springs could use a good slap.

I wish I had kept more friendships close and not treated people as temporary. The journey is temporary, but people matter.

If you want to change everything, rip it off like a bandage—you can’t do it in pieces. It doesn’t work that way. Keep your roots—they matter—but don’t mistake them for limits. Let your wings take you as far as you’re willing to go.

Strange thing is, it often brings you right back to where you started.

I jump when opportunities arise while mitigating risks. Fear is normal, but it shouldn’t stop you. Consider outcomes, but don’t let fear freeze you.