“Not all those who wander are lost.”

[Boromir88]

So maybe that's an important component of the wandering -- not wandering aimlessly, nor yet merely with the object of selfish gain, but wandering that leads to the service of others.~Mr. Underhill

I agree and I think the Bilbo-Gollum comparison shows this perfectly.

And are we talking about the lack of 'wandering' or control/stasis? The wanderers to me not only accept change, they also accept that there are things that are beyond their care and control.

Alatar, I think your post makes perfect sense, nothing muddled about it. I think Gandalf's speech to Frodo on "Do not be so eager to pass out death and judgement," when Frodo said Bilbo should have killed Gollum is a good example of this.

And the big theme of Pity in Tolkien's books can tie in with all this. Gandalf has faith that Gollum could still change, and the pity of Bilbo and Frodo given to Gollum was a belief that he could change. Bilbo and Frodo have accepted things are out of their control, and all they can do is show pity to those lost in hopes that they will change.

I mean pity was shown to Saruman and Grima, hoping a change would occur. I definitely agree that the acceptance that things aren't in your control is a big factor in this. Saruman did not understand this.

Aragorn aids the battle at Helm's Deep yet does not supersede the orders of Theoden - he does not have to 'order' everything.

And actually there was a brief moment when Aragorn did not understand this. In King of the Golden Hall when Hama asks for his sword Aragorn tries to assert his power as being Elendil's heir that he is more powerful than Theoden and can overrule his orders. Also, to mention that he isn't even the King yet. But, with some help from Gandalf Aragorn learns from this instance. Aragorn learned to show humility to Theoden, recognizing that it wasn't he who could take control and order over Theoden.

So could we discuss the big factors that involve in what makes the wanderers...well wanderers.
I think Mr. Underhill and alatar have given some of them...
1. You don't wander aimlessly or for the purpose of self-gain, but to help and aid those in need.

2. Accepting you aren't in control, and you can't control everything.

Could we also add humility to this? As Aragorn and Faramir both show this.

Yes, it has been a great discussion Estelyn.