There was a recent article in a bipolar magazine that addressed this. Here's a link to an excerpt of it:

http://bphope.com/Item.aspx/915/accentuate-the-positive

I, too, am on disability, so I won't go off spouting platitudes about how fabulous it is to be bipolar... ... but imagine a world without the creative side of our illness, without the inventions, without the inspiration that mania, in its milder forms, can bring. And even the depressions have their merit, though it is harder to believe when we're in the middle of one.

None of us asked for this, and yes, some days it really sucks. But like others have said, it doesn't need to have complete control. We are able to manage it to some degree and need to focus on the days when we feel well and remember these days on the days when we're sidelined.