Twenty-five years after an epiphany in a barbershop, Tom Griffen finally began his walk across America.

Lugging a heavy backpack and wearing a fresh pair of running shoes, Tom urgently dipped his hands into the Pacific Ocean, bid farewell to loved ones, then began an eastbound journey toward the opposite coast.

Tom's reasons for walking were largely unclear, but he was sure of one thing-he couldn't wait for the chance to tell people he had walked all the way across the continent.

Tom's plans, however, were thwarted by a sidelining injury that spiraled him into an abyss of self-doubt.

Until one day he recalled an interaction with a man he met weeks earlier at a California crosswalk.

This memory inspired Tom to reframe why he was walking in the first place.

TOM GRIFFEN is a writer, artist, and leadership consultant.

He is the author of the Imagine the Sea, a companion collection of poems written while ambling across America.

He lives in Spokane, Washington.

For speaking and reading engagements, visit tomgriffen.

com.