The 1000 Good Deeds Guy is Back
Nick Murray
Guess who's back? The Thousand Good Deeds guy. That's who.
Clayton Finnell became a popular figure in the community by doing good deeds for people and posting them on social media. His goal, as originally stated, was to complete one thousand of these good deeds and some of them were definitely pretty impressive. He raised money for causes, fed the hungry, helped find shelter for people in sticky situations and, most impressively, he once designed the worlds largest ice rainbow to raise money for a young girl suffering from a rare disease called Andersen Tawil-Syndrome
About that he said "I'm just some guy that promotes trying to be better then what we are. I Remind people of the butterfly effect. If people could see the bigger picture they could see that it really does pay off in the long run."
But something happened in the process. Clayton made some heartfelt, personal videos addressing his own demons and then he was gone. Like a thief in the night. The social media world no longer felt his presence.
Cut to now. Four months later. Clayton uploaded a new video to his channel. In it he addresses his audience, "haters" included, with some kind words before jumping right back into the deeds.
His first deed upon return was to set up a water bowl for neighbourhood pets.
That's just one of the countless number of deeds he has done since starting this.
"I have no clue what deed I'm on now. Over a thousand; maybe four thousand" he said. "Only God knows, I guess. I stopped counting long ago. It's not about the numeric value of kind acts.
It's just about doing something I enjoy. All I really try to do is be a decent human being. These deeds or acts, I feel, we can all agree are things that it would be nice if people did."
Clayton didn't vanish completely though. He admitted that he did post a few times during the break.
"To help someone I cared about find a cat dear to each of us" he said. "I posted flyers with kids around the neighborhood and put flyers in doors."
The search was ultimately successful. The cat was located at the Humane Society. Clayton personally went and picked the cat up and returned it.
"I'm not perfect or self righteous but more of a contemptible person with benevolent procreator matter of contention" he chided.
"Why I took a break: that's the question I get from everyone. I mean this in the most kindest possible way that someone with my limited vocabulary can put into words. Pass! If that doesn't satisfy the question" he added, "then I would explain that I don't need to explain my break from social media."
Clayton quickly re-focused the discussion while also vaguely answering why he left social media..
"Focusing on you is a good thing" he said. "So yeah, I took a break for me. I dropped
all planning and events for me."
Clayton admitted that putting himself before others is something he often struggles with.
"I'm not perfect and I can't give the perfect answer. But I can try to learn balance" he said.
Clayton also opted to pass when asked about what he did during his time off.
"Just know that I had the most supportive group of people who care deeply for me. Who loved me unconditionally, without hesitation" he said. "I'm truly blessed to have amazing besties who reinforce that some days I may not feel cracked or bent but just broken. They kick down the doors and physically remove you from your cell. They remind you that even when you think your broken and feel it to the furthest depths of your soul that even broken things have worth".
Clayton says he is refocused and now that he has returned he will focus more on family things.
What made Clayton decide to come back and kick up the campaign of good deeds again?
"When I woke up and my first thought wasn't about pineapple" he said. "It's a vegan thing."
You can find him on Facebook at @Clayton Finnell 1000 Good Deeds