LOTR as a life-principle book?

[Kaiserin]

The other day, I came accross a nifty little book about life principles found in Lord of the Rings. At first I regarded it as a product of extreme fanaticism, or perhaps even craziness. Tolkien is an excellent writer, but I've never regarded LOTR as useful for meditation or wisdom, or anything for life-application.

Anyway, the more I thought about LOTR, the more it became clear to me that it does have a lot of gems in it, and a lot of virtuous principles weaved into the elements.

Consider, for example, the rhyme about Strider/ Aragorn in FOTR:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

I see that this even can be some sort of "practical advice" in the way we perceive people, circumstances, and even ourselves.

Those wise words of Gandalf to Frodo, about Gollum (That whole "Deserve it, I daresay he does!" quote) - it is considered by many as a "powerful" line. The power of course is not just in the construction of sentences, but in the wisdom and virtue it communicates: the error in proud judgment, the rewards of mercy, destiny, and so on.

It might be a stupid question to ask, but I am curious about what other Tolkien readers have to say: Have you learned, applied ar adaopted certain life principles which you picked up from LOTR (or from other Tolkien's writings, for that matter) - whether consciously or unconsciously? ... Or do you think that is just sheer fanaticism, or even nonsense?