Why? Well, mostly because it is a trick question! Really!

See, Bi-Polar Disorder isn't something you just pick up by not washing your hands or anything. You can't catch it if someone sneezes on you, and you don't have to worry about picking it up in a public restroom. ( And, considering the things you can pick up in a public restroom, Bi-Polar would be the least of your problems!) In fact, you could walk into a room full of Bi-polars and never have to worry about being exposed to the bug that carries it either! (Because we Bi-polars are greedy, and that is something we like to keep amongst ourselves!)

Oh sure, there are those clubs, and what have you, that depend on new members for their survival. Constantly recruiting suitable new-blood to maintain or even swell their ranks.

Not us! Guess we are elitist's. We need not recruit.

Nope! Nay! NosireeBob! We know, sooner or later, some-one's gonna show up on our doorstep with the necessary credentials to join our private little group! Of this fact we have no doubt! (And believe it or not, they will instinctively know the secret handshake!)

Believe you me! We have some pretty nifty members amoung our rank and file. I have mentioned some of them in my past Hubs!

Honest! We have an elite club, and though we are permitted to bring guests to our little get togethers, we are not allowed to let non bipolars participate in any of our official functions. (It's true!)

Okay, if you don't believe me, then how many of the non Bi-Polars out there reading this Hub know our secret handshake? None, right?

Or, how many Non-Bi-Polars out there know the Bi-Polar pledge? Hmm, I see even less hands going up! (in fact, I'm not even sure if I remember the whole thing!)

Sadly, no, I can't reveal any more of our secrets to you. Truth be told, I am probably in trouble with the Bi-Polar community at large because I have told you all as much as I have. (Risky business for one who is already behind in the monthly union dues as I am!)

There are some things that I can safely share with you without further upsetting the powers that be. Some things that have come to light for me over the past few years. Things others have never thought of before, or possibly new ways of thinking about life in general. Things that have helped me.

Things like coming to the realization that all of us on this small world of ours are basically the same inside. (I don't mean all the red gooey yucky gutsy stuff either.) I mean inside. Where it really counts. In our souls, in our inner fibers, or where ever your belief tells you one resides within the body. Yes the other stuff links us all physiologically, but in the soul, we are linked in spirit.

By spirit, I refer to the aspirations, joys, fears, love, and life in general we all share. Aspirations, or dreams if you will, which propel us through our respective lives. The joys, and love, we gather along the way, and the fears we develop and either face or live with all add up to life. By spirit I refer to all these things, woven together to make up the fabric of who we are, individually.

I also have learned that all of us have ups and downs, all day long. Good things and not so good things occur daily in every corner of the world. What ever hole you try to dig and crawl into will not help. What ever dark place you may seek for shelter will not shield you. (And besides, hiding in the dark makes your eyes real squinty when you come out!) The fact is, life is a roller coaster ride for everyone.

I have learned that mean people really do suck. It's true, I have checked my facts.

I have learned that love is as important as food. That love is a healing thing that mends all wounds. (Well, time too, but mostly love.) That love takes on all aspects of life. Do what you love, and love what you do. (Of course, getting paid for it is a real plus!) I have also learned that you must begin by loving who you are and the things you stand for.

I have learned that the joy you find is the peace you keep in your heart no matter what is going on around you. I have learned that you sometimes need to search for that peace through out the day when life places obstacles in your path, but if you search hard enough, you will find it. And I have learned that finding that peace is crucial for my survival.

I have learned the fears we have we develop on our journey through life and are natural baggage everyone collects.. One fear I have is talking about fear, so I will say no more on the subject. Besides, I think I have made my point.

We are really, pretty much all the same. we all want to be successful in our endeavors. We all want to be loved, and we all want to have good lives. We all have moments in our lives.that either build us up, or tear us down.

But I have learned also that by taking the pieces that have been torn down, I can rebuild something that is a bit stronger than before. (At least that's what I tell myself!)

But, being Bi-Polar puts an entirely different slant on life. Sometimes, for me, things aren't so black and white. Sometimes it is difficult to see the difference between what is perceived and what is so. Some times depression creeps in, or manic moments pounce. Sometimes the chemicals are so far out of whack in me that I just shut down. Can't help it, can't control it, can only accept it, and try to fix the problem when it finally occurs to me I am having problems. (And then I have the embarrassment of explaining what ever nutty thing I may have done or said! Most amusing!)

.

Nothing! But with the bad comes some good. (At least that is what I tell myself.)

In fact, I tend to break things down a bit farther than your average person. (Hello! Bi-Polar and all that.) I look at things that have happened in the past that have not been so great until I find something positive to learn, or something funny no matter how ironic. Either way, finding something out about yourself by learning from your past is a good thing, No? Learning from our mistakes, what a novel idea. Glad I thought of it!

There are lots of reasons. The first of course, is lack of boredom. Yup! I'm never bored. My brain won't allow me to be boared. Mainly because it won't shut down. There is always something whirling around in there. Non-stop, 24/7. Never a dull moment. I have to say, it is like living with a carnival camped out in your mind.

Many Bi-Polar individuals have a side of them that excells. (Oh who am I kidding?) Everyone has something they excell in. However, many inventions and discoveries which have been made have been realized because of a bipolar mind. My niche happens to be within the artistic realm. My mind always wants to create something.

I used to sketch, constantly. I have filled art pads in just days. Nothing in particular. Animals, people, tatoo art, landscapes, and stuff like that. Strange to say, it was the only way I could concentrate. I used to read and sketch at the same time. Sometimes, I would sketch something I would read from what ever book I was reading. Were they any good? Guess that is in the eye of the beholder. I did sell some, so guess they weren't too bad. Well, anyway, I gave that habit up because people thought it was annoying. (Kind of like going to a party at someones house and ignoring everyone while you text on your phone all night.)

Now I write. I always wrote, but now I write more. Often while watching the boob tube. I know it is wierd, but that is just the way my mind operates. I write better when there are distractions. When I write without distractions, I tend to have problems getting a piece to progress. Without the distraction, I tend to stall within the piece I am working on. Cool, huh?

Also, a bipolar (especially one who chooses to treat their bipolar naturally.) must be ever self aware. To be in touch with themselves. Doesn't that sound cosmic? What I have had to do is to learn to recognize (not to sound cliche') where my head is at. I have to assess myself as to wether I am manic, or going into a downhill slide to, well, you know. I have to know this all the time, and most importantly, watch for things I know to be triggers for either.

You know. Triggers. Things that make you goofy! Like a gopher eating your last row of potatoes might may tend to make you slide a bit. (Just an example. Actually that would tend to make me more angry than depressed, now that I think about it.) Or hitting the jackpot at a local casino may tend to make me a bit manic. (But I suppose that would work on just about anyone, so another bad example.) Though, I think you get what I am trying to say. Really, the triggers to either side need not be so blatent. Perhaps something as simple as a gloomy morning or a particularly sunny one.

The good thing is, at least you always know where you stand. That is as long as you keep all the other demons within in check. I'm talking about all the little side orders that come with the entree' of bipolar listed on the mandatory menu of life. Like compulsive disorders, or attention defecit, or child like tendencies, or paranoid tendencies, or one of the other choices from column B. (Don't bother to ask to see the menu though because it isn't like you get to pick and choose or anything.)

I'm not bitter about this little bug that ails me. Not at all. To say I was grateful would not be accurate, but not completely untruthful. Crazy, huh? Yah, I know, but I suppose it is all in how you look at things.

No. I am not just tickled pink because I am bipolar. I don't know anyone who is. (And if you do, then watch out for them. They are probably nuts!) In fact it makes me down right angry sometimes that there is something wrong with me that is beyond my control. To tell you the truth, it infuriates me! I just want to be like everyone else.

Then, i realize that I am just like everyone else. I have never met anyone I really could consider normal. I don't mean that in a mean way mind you. I just mean that every person I have personally met, throughout my life time so far, has had issues of some kind. Issues which affected their mood or demeanor at one point or another. I am just stating an observation. But this observation affirms to me that I and all that read this, and those who will in the future are more alike than not. Wow! That really takes the pressure off, let me tell you!

I have rationalized my illness! Isn't that one for the books. Not really, but inside, looking at things in this way, I feel less like a sore thumb and more like someone who has accepted his place within humanity. By doing that, I have carved out a comfortable niche for myself, and the ability to pursue something I love to do. To write, to live well though simply, to try to help those who care for my help, to try to help those who need a different road to their sanity, and to just live my life with those I love.

Realizing that is the joy I found from having bipolar in my life. I found what drives me, and once I figured out the steering, I began to cut a path of my own. How cool is that? I actually can thank this annoying disorder which tortures me everyday for helping me to figure out who I am. I can thank it for training me on how to control something I presumably cannot control. I thank bipolar for making me see that there is nothing I cannot do once I really put my heart, mind and soul into it, and the fact that this is true for any of us. All of us. Thanks to bipolar I know how I work, I know myself, and I am at peace with who I am, and where I am. I wish all others the same.

So, now once again, I ask you, wouldn't you like to be bipolar too?

(Stay tuned for my next one entitled, <I was bipolar when bipolar wasn't cool.> Just kidding. It's going to be something about some crazy cats I know!)

Till then, Happy Bipolaring!