Shortening Distances

I remember, vaguely though, the day that my I took my first trip on the city bus to my school, a couple of kilometers away. I was probably in my second/third standard and it was a big accomplishment for me as I could go such a long distance without an adult supervision. Then after a few trips it became normal. A few years later when I used to travel to Chennai with my parents I used to think that the Bangalore City Railway Station, which was some 8-10 km away that that was far. But when I joined my engineering I did that "almost" everyday (the word "almost" should indicate something mischievous). During my school days my aunt visited us and she wanted to go to Whitefield which was a good 15-20 km from my home and that distance hit me, but then again as fate had it I got a job in Whitefield and I traveled there everyday (notice the absence of the word "almost". Man I miss college days). Then I got the opportunity to travel abroad and now I am farthest from home.
I think by now that you would have guessed where I am heading. It is a great mystery how as we grow up the distances tend to shorten. What is the cause for this? Is it that as we grow our exposure to the world tends to help us overcome the fear or should I sense of distances, or is it our so called "knowledge". Think about it and comment your thoughts.