读者文摘:我为什么要给人免费理发(2)（在线收听）

“To sit down and have somebody look at me and talk to me like a person and not just an illness,

她说：“坐下来，有人看着我，像对待一个人一样对待我，而不是像对待一个病人，

it helped me feel cared about and less alone,” she says.

这让我感到有人关心我，也让我少了一些孤独。”

After that, Steller knew she wanted to have her own salon so she could help people feel the way she’d felt that day.

从那以后，斯特勒知道她想要拥有自己的发廊，这样她就可以帮助人们获得她那天的感受。

Not long after finishing cosmetology school in 2009, she began what she now calls her Red Chair Project, reaching out to people on the streets.

2009年从美容学校毕业后不久，她开始了现在被她称为“红椅”的项目，向街上的人们伸出援手。

“Part of what broke my heart was just how lonely people looked,” she says.

他说，“让我心碎的部分原因是人们看起来很孤独。”

“I thought maybe I’d go around and ask if people want free haircuts.

“我想也许我应该去问问有没有人想要免费理发。

I can’t fix their problems, but maybe I can help them feel less alone for a moment.”

我无法解决他们的问题，但或许我可以帮助他们暂时不那么孤独。”

Steller listens to people’s stories of loss, addiction, and struggle to get back on their feet.

斯特勒听人们讲述失去、成瘾、挣扎着重新站起来的故事。

The attention apparently works. When she was cutting a woman’s hair one day, someone drove by and yelled, “You look amazing!

显然，这种关心是有用的。有一天，她给一名女性理发，有人开车过去时喊道，“你看起来很棒！

The woman in the chair beamed. “I’m not invisible,” she exclaimed.

坐在椅子上的女人微笑着。“我不是隐形的，”她喊道。

“I thought I was invisible. Look, people see me!”

“我以为我是隐形的。看，人们看到我了!”

Another man was on his way to a job interview at a pet-supply store when he accepted Steller’s offer.

另一名男子在去一家宠物用品商店面试的路上接受了斯特勒的邀请。

When she followed up, she learned he didn’t get that job, but he did get a landscaping job soon afterward.

当她继续跟进时，她发现他没有得到那份工作，但他很快就得到了一份景观美化的工作。

An offshoot of the Red Chair Project is the Steller Kindness Project,

红椅项目的一个分支是斯特勒善良项目，

in which people who commit acts of kindness (volunteering for hurricane relief, helping neighbors in need) are invited for a free makeover at Steller’s salon.

在这个项目中，那些做善事的人(志愿参加飓风救援，帮助有需要的邻居)会被邀请参加斯特勒沙龙的免费改型活动。

In exchange, they tell their stories, which Steller shares on her website.

作为交换，他们会讲述他们的故事，然后斯特勒就在她的网站上分享出去。

Her hope is that by reading about kind acts, others will be inspired to spread their own.

她希望通过阅读有关善举的书籍，能够激励其他人传播自己的善意。

So far, it’s working, she says. “I’ve had people reach out from around the country, saying, ‘I’m going to shelters and cutting hair.’

她说，到目前为止，这是有用的。“全国各地的人都来找我，说‘我要去避难所剪头发。’

Or, ‘I’ve driven by this woman for the past two years, and I’ve never stopped to say hi.

或者，过去两年，我都开车经过这个女人，我从未停下来打招呼。

Now I say hi to her every time I drive by.’” And it all began with a belief in simple acts of kindness, such as a free haircut.

现在我每天经过她时都打招呼。”这一切都始于一个简单的善举，比如免费理发。

“The way you show up in the world matters,” says Steller.

你在世界上的表现很重要，”斯特勒说。

“You have no idea what people are going to do with the kindness that you give them.”

你不知道人们接受你的善良后会去做什么。”