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Fifty years ago, I had one of the best moments of my life. A glitterball whirled around, a lightshow began, music from A Clockwork Orange played and on to the stage ran David Bowie. What a show it was, with costume change after costume change, and of course amazing music. People then were puzzled by his androgyny and have been intrigued by Bowie ever since. This week, the Victoria and Albert Museum announced it is to display 80,000 items from Bowie’s archive in a new museum. It's not the first link between the V&A and the singer. In 2013 its show “David Bowie Is” drew record crowds. The exhibition’s title referred to how David Bowie appeared to be different people. During his life you could say David Bowie Is Ziggy Stardust or Is The Thin White Duke, as well as many other personas. So who is anyone? The philosopher Descartes said of the human person: I think, therefore I am, but his dualist approach, that people are made up of a body and a separate mind, seems lacking today. Nowadays body, mind and soul are seen as more integrated. During the season of Lent, which began this week, the importance of all three – body, mind and soul – becomes apparent. As Christians prepare for Good Friday, when Christ’s crucifixion is commemorated, they engage in acts of penance which take different forms. Fasting is about the body, praying about the soul, while reading inspiring texts can be good for the mind too. Another key part of Lent is alms-giving, which might be about donations or giving of one’s time – something that takes physical and spiritual engagement. The other day I was reading about the kind of alms-giving that involves the offer of one’s time and it was described as self-denial. But is it? Later, I was talking to the chief executive of The Passage, the homelessness charity in London that Princess Diana visited many times and sometimes with her sons. Now William, the Prince of Wales, is its royal patron and this week opened its newly refurbished flats and bedrooms. Its chief executive told me how important volunteers are to the work of the charity but also how important it is to them. Like Princess Diana, they find an affirmation of themselves in engaging with others. It’s a common experience of volunteering – that those who give actually gain. The same happens in Lent. Opt for focusing on others, through giving, and it seems enriching rather than denying yourself. Somehow the shifting of the spotlight to be on others and on God – to be on service – can enable each of us to become more authentically ourselves.