Ehara i te tī
Y.O.L.O. – you only live once
- this is an example use of Ehara to negate an equative sentence
Derives from the whakataukī:
“Ehara i te tī, e wana ake” – “unlike the tī (cordyline or cabbage tree), it will never bud.”
The various species of tī are noted for their ability to survive in spite of the serious prunings they receive. Even one cut to ground level normally produces young shoots. Moreover they can easily be transplanted from cuttings. Man is quite the opposite. Once he falls (dies), he will never rise again.
— Te Ao Hou, No. 17 (December 1956)