At the age of twelve I was given a koan.  This did not happen in the usual manner, in front of a priest in a Zen temple.  Rather, I was given this koan during a psychological exam.  In fact, it was only many years later that I realized I had been given a koan at all.  After dutifully responding to many questions by my examiner I was asked, "How is a tea kettle like a mountain?"  As countless thoughts raced through my head, I was suddenly overcome with dread.  Although he smiled and asked again, I refused to respond for fear I might be wrong. 
For ten years I pondered this question and came up with many clever responses.  It was about this time that I realized that I had been given this koan as an important gift.  I began to ask myself what the riddle could mean, rather than how I should answer it.  After another decade of thought, I have come to realize that I was being tested less for a correct answer than for my ability to respond.  The answer might have been anything - had I said it with a lucid, fearless, and unprejudiced mind.  All I had to do was answer - just answer.  So, when someone asks you, "How is a tea kettle like a mountain," how will you respond? 
- bjones