There is a sense of hope in this week's audio diary from The Canberra Times.
We set up a line for people to call and record their observations and feelings about the lockdown. The idea was to document the myriad ordinary extraordinary lives in this strange period we are all living through.
A few of you sent encouragement. Including one man apparently from outside Canberra but with a message directed to Canberrans.
"You are all very strong and resilient people," he said.
"You're the nation's capital and you will get through this. Just don't lose hope, and don't lose connections with those you love and who are important to you."
He has some advice: "A phone call, and asking are you okay, can change a life in an instant. So stay in contact. Talk over Zoom. Talk over Facetime, talk over Messenger. Make video calls.
"Do whatever you can to have that connection with the ones you love. And don't lose hope. We're thinking about you."
Another man seized on the good things from his current plight.
"I've started those projects and hobbies I've been promising myself to do for years," he said.
"COVID has forced me to slow down, to reassess what's really important in life. To enjoy a beautiful blue sky again. To take in the visual feast around me that is Canberra in spring time. To listen to the chirping of the birds. And enjoy the quiet - the quiet - such a rare commodity these days."
He has come to realise how precious time is.
"Time is a gift, and if one good thing has come out of all of this, it is to use that gift wisely.
"For me the glass is not half empty. It's half full. I look forward to the day when we can all get back to a normal life again."
Some people are counting their blessings.
One lady who is not locked down realises how fortunate she is.
"Nurses, doctors, maintenance men - we have a job to do so we're the lucky ones who escape the house," she said. "Every day is new."
Read more: The Canberra Times Lockdown Hotline Episode One
But for those who are locked down, you can't avoid the sadness, even when there is a thin silver lining for this next woman.
"Not being able to go places where we usually go, it's frustrating," she said.
"But the good thing is that I've learnt that I can draw really well, so I'm drawing every day which is helping. I just hope it's over soon."
It is particularly hard for one university student.
"I finish my degree next year and I've only been to one in-person class," the student said.
"I was really hoping to have this time to make friends, go to parties and do all the things that are so romanticised and glamorous about the uni lifestyle. I wanted it all, even the bad parts.
"And now it's just hard because I have so much life in me and so many things that I wanted to do. I feel like this is the time in my life when I'm supposed to be doing all these things, and meeting new people and making new friends."
She sees the real world looming.
"I'm going to have to get into a job, and get stuck into all of that, and not get to live the years that are supposed to be the best years in my life," she said. But even this student realises it could be worse.
"I understand that people have it worse and that makes me feel bad for complaining, but this is just my story," she said.
There is a poignant coda to the audio diary. A woman and a child talk.
The three-year-old, Emily, says: "We're in lockdown."
And how do you feel about being in lockdown?
"Sad."
Who do you miss seeing? And Emily names two people who sound like her grandparents.
- Share your COVID story by calling the Canberra Times Lockdown Hotline on (02) 6280 2280.
