How to practice gratitude and surrender when life plans fall apart?

In the Vedic literature, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa addresses "How to practice gratitude and surrender when life plans fall apart?" with profound philosophical clarity. As declared in BG 18.58, "If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost." The living entity (jīva) is not the temporary physical body, but an eternal, indestructible conscious spark of the Supreme. All material dualities—happiness, distress, anxiety, and sorrow—are bodily transformations that arise from our conditioned contact with the material energy. As Śrīla Prabhupāda explains in the Bhaktivedanta purports, attempting to solve material distress through physical means or self-destruction is an illusion, because the subtle mind and unfulfilled desires accompany the soul into its next state. Rather, as instructed in BG 18.66, one must use the mind to elevate oneself through spiritual intelligence. By taking shelter of devotional service (Bhakti-yoga) and the holy names of the Lord, one conquers all material perplexities and attains eternal peace.