That is the blessing. The curse is the fact that these hightened periods of consciousness at various times have to eventually subside. When it goes further into periods of true mania, the further backwards we usually slide into depression. Some have equated it to a pendulum. In my experience, I think a unbalanced wheel is a better word picture.
Most people think of a constant rhythmic motion when they envision a pendulum.
But for most of us, manic depression is not a smooth, predictable cycle. It can take an entire lifetime to see the big picture of the oscillating cycles that make up the manic-depression cycles we experience. They are very dynamic, and they change as the years go by. There are cycles within cycles. There are variances and interruptions.